Russia Finds Foot-and-Mouth Disease Near China Border

July 20, 2010, 5:54 AM EDT

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Russia is suffering from its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease since 2006 after the virus was found in livestock near the Chinese border, according to the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE.

The virus infected 112 cattle and four pigs located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the border, an alert by Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture published yesterday on the Paris-based OIE’s website shows. Vaccination and quarantine measures have been applied, according to the alert.

Foot-and-mouth disease is one of the most contagious animal illnesses and can kill young offspring, according to the OIE. A 2001 outbreak in the U.K. caused at least 9 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) in damages including direct expenses, costs to tourism and compensation payments to farmers, according to Cardiff University’s Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society.

The Russian outbreak started on July 5 and was confirmed by laboratory testing on July 18, the alert shows. Before now, the disease most recently occurred in the country in June 2006, according to the notice.

Russia had 19.6 million pigs and 17.9 million head of cattle in 2009, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The country’s livestock herd ranks behind countries including the U.S. and Brazil.

China in November reported an outbreak of the viral disease among cattle in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The foot-and-mouth virus infects cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, pigs and sheep. It can cause foot lesions, as well as weight loss and permanently reduced milk production in cattle.