Korea struggles to stop FMD spread

Vaccination of pigs, cows to begin soon

By Lee Hyo-sik

The government said Wednesday that it will vaccinate pigs, cows and other animals with cloven hooves to stop the rapid spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

The decision came after the highly contagious virus has turned into a nationwide epidemic, with livestock farms in the eastern province of Gangwon, the least polluted place in Korea, falling victim to the deadly disease.

“The government decided to inoculate cattle and other livestock on a limited basis to stop the further spread of the disease and regain a clean status free of FMD. The extent of the vaccination and other details will be determined later by a group of experts to achieve maximum effectiveness,” Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoo Jeong-bok said after a meeting of an Emergency Livestock Quarantine Committee.

The FMD outbreak was first reported in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 29. The deadly virus has since devastated pig and cattle farms in the province, and then made its way into northern Gyeonggi Province, forcing farmers and quarantine authorities to destroy and bury tens of thousands of domesticated animals.

The disease is now heading toward Gangwon Province via people and vehicles that have had contacts with infected farms in Goyang, Yangju, Yeoncheon, Paju. Gapyeong and other cities in Gyeonggi Province.

The ministry said cattle farms in PyeongChang and Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, were confirmed positive for FMD. Following the confirmation, all 26 cattle in Pyeongchang along with dogs and other domesticated animals were culled and buried. In Hwacheon, 25 cows and other animals at an infected farm and two others within a 500-meter radius were slaughtered and buried.

Livestock farms in Chuncheon and Wonju have also reported suspected FMD cases on cattle showing symptoms of excessive drooling and blisters on the tongue, indicating more farms in other municipalities will likely be infected with the disease.

Since the first outbreak was confirmed on Nov. 29, the country reported 48 FMD cases with over 224,600 livestock having been slaughtered or to be destroyed, the largest number ever. In 2002, a total of 165,555 domesticated animals were destroyed. The farms are estimated to have suffered about 230 billion won in losses.

In 2000, the government used vaccines to stem the outbreak. But since then, the government has opted not to resort to the drugs because it incurs substantial costs to pay for the vaccine shots and compensation for culled animals.

Vaccinating 100,000 heads of cattle or pigs could cost 600 million won to 700 million won, although the number of shots that may have to be administered could go up. There are about 13 million heads of cattle and pigs in the country along with smaller numbers of cloven-hoofed animals such as deer, goat and sheep.

Other official sources estimated that the cost of culling animals already exceeded 230 billion won and is likely to go up, making the latest outbreak the most severe FMD outbreak reported so far.

Additionally, if vaccination occurs, Korea won’t be able to export livestock products for at least a year because it is not eligible for a clean status free of FMD, causing larger financial damage to livestock farms.

If only the slaughter- and burial-method is deployed to cope with the disease, Korea can gain the clean status unless the new outbreak of FMD is detected for three months since the last one.

The nation was declared clear of the disease in September by the World Organization for Animal Health, but the status was revoked following the recent outbreak.