Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Quarantine authorities on high alert as FMD breaks out ahead of Lunar New Year holiday
Quarantine officers spray disinfectant at a cattle farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, after a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak was confirmed the previous day, the first outbreak this year. / Yonhap
By Kim Rahn
By Jung Hae-myoung
Quarantine authorities have been on alert after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed Monday evening at a cattle farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, the first of the year.
Another cattle farm nearby also reported a suspected case Tuesday, which the authorities later confirmed.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting with related agencies later in the day to discuss the situation and measures to ensure the disease does not spread during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts Saturday. The majority of the Korean population is expected to travel across the country to their hometowns during the holiday.
“We have to take rapid and pre-emptive early response measures,” Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said. “The Lunar New Year holiday begins in three days, and people will travel around the country. If we fail to block the disease with strong early-stage countermeasures, it could spread nationwide.”
He ordered the ministry, local governments and the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency to cooperate in epidemiologic studies, quarantine measures and vaccinations.
The ministry issued a freeze on the movement of all livestock at cow and pig farms in Anseong and nearby regions including North and South Chungcheong provinces, Daejeon and Sejong, for 24 hours from 8:30 p.m. Monday. The authorities also disinfected the farms.
The quarantine authorities issued a “caution” level alert as the FMD virus was confirmed as the type O variant, against which livestock here have been vaccinated. The cattle at the first farm in Anseong were also vaccinated in October, but the ministry said it is possible for even vaccinated animals to develop the disease if they have low immunity.
On Monday, the farm owner reported to the city government that 20 out of his 120 cows started drooling and foaming at the mouth. The quarantine authorities inspected the facility and collected specimens.
After confirming FMD, the 120 cows on the farm were culled, according to the relevant law.
The second farm, 10 kilometers away from the first, reported symptoms in 97 cows.
The last FMD outbreak took place in April last year at a pig farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.