By Kim Rahn
Animal diseases are spreading rapidly across the country.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Thursday that three pigs at a farm in Sejong City were confirmed with carrying the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus. The confirmation came a day after the ministry had a “nationwide disinfection day” to prevent animal diseases.
“The farm owner reported suspicious FMD cases on Wednesday, and the pigs tested positive,” said a ministry official. “We culled the three and an additional 223 pigs at the same pigsty.”
The farm had a total of 3,693 pigs in 14 pigsties. It is about 19 kilometers away from another pig farm in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, where the disease was reported on Jan. 1.
Within a 3-kilometer radius from the farm, other farmers raise 16,000 pigs and 6,833 cows. The ministry ordered the farmers not to move their animals to other regions for a while. It will also disinfect livestock-related facilities there such as farms and slaughterhouses.
“The owner said he had his pigs vaccinated against the disease on Dec. 18 to 19. We are examining the animals more closely,” the official said.
Another farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, also reported suspected FMD of pigs. The test result will come out soon.
The farm, which has some 1,200 pigs, is about 3 kilometers away from a farm which reported on Tuesday the first confirmed case of the virus in a cow in three years.
Since last month, the authorities have culled more than 29,000 animals for FMD, mostly pigs and only one cow. The disease has hit 37 farms in North and South Chungcheong, North Gyeongsang and Gyeonggi provinces.
Besides FMD, avian influenza has also affected many parts of the country since September, including North and South Jeolla provinces. So far, the authorities have culled some 526,000 chickens and ducks.
Late last month, the avian flu virus was found in a chicken sold at Moran Market in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, during a random inspection.
It was the first case of bird flu in the province this winter. The authorities culled about 3,200 chickens on sale at the market, and the five-day interval market closed on Dec. 29, the first shutdown since its opening 50 years ago. It reopened on Jan. 4, except for livestock vendors.
According to the ministry, the government has spent about 3 trillion won in dealing with animal diseases since 2011, including expenses for disinfection and compensation to farmers for their culled animals.