By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff reporter
A farm owner who had traveled to China appears to be responsible for the spread of foot-and-mouth last month, which led to the culling of some 50,000 animals.
The state-run National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said on Monday that a 48-year-old rancher with surname Kim from Ganghwa Island seems to have carried in the highly contagious disease.
"We learned that Kim had travelled to China in early March and returned home without undertaking proper quarantine measures," NVRQS official Lee Sang-jin said.
"Foot-and-mouth was first detected at Kim's ranch on Ganghwa Island where nine out of 177 cattle came down with the fatal virus, which eventually spread to other areas."
Kim is not legally liable for the initiation of the outbreak but his compensation for the destruction of the 177 cattle is reduced in order to discourage trips to countries where the disease is common.
Since the outbreak was first reported on April 8 at Kim's farm in Ganghwa, 60 kilometers west of Seoul, there have been 11 more cases in various scattered locations in Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong Provinces.
In order to prevent the spread of the disease, around 50,000 animals were destroyed within a 3-kilometer radius of the outbreaks. Yet, the disease has yet to be contained.
"If there are no new cases next week, we can heave a sigh of relief. But we should remember the virus can be brought over anytime from neighboring countries," Lee said.
"As the disease is common in Northeast Asian countries, we cannot be complacent. We plan to make every effort to bring it under control."
For example, upside of 85,000 animals have been culled in Japan this year due to the disease, of which outbreaks have already reached three digits.
When foot-and-mouth was found at a farm in January in Gyeonggi Province, the damage was relatively small. The state-backed agency said that a migrant worker appears to have been the cause.
Foot-and-mouth disease affects cloven-hoofed animals, mostly domesticated ones including cattle, goats, pigs, deer and sheep. The problem is that vaccination is difficult as the virus seamlessly evolves and mutates.
It is widely believed not to affect humans, though this fact is disputed. In Korea, there have been no reports of anyone suffering from it.
"We strongly recommend ranchers or farmers not to travel to Northeast Asian countries for the time being. We cannot lawfully force them but if they do not follow our recommendation, they can face financial losses when it comes to culling animals," Lee said.