FMD Spreads to Paju, Gyeonggi Prov.

• [2010-12-16, 08:47:28]

The government has confirmed that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is spreading.

Following the first outbreak in North Gyeongsang Province, the disease is confirmed to have spread to Yangju city, Yeoncheon County and Paju city in Gyeonggi Province.

Paju is the latest victim, with the government confirming FMD at a dairy farm there some 15 kilometers southwest of a pig farm in Yeoncheon, where the disease was last confirmed.

Foot-and-mouth has now spread to 40 locations in provinces north and south of the capital area.

Some 169-thousand heads of livestock have been or will be culled due to the recent outbreak. A previous high of 160-thousand was culled during an FMD outbreak in 2002.

The government has raised the FMD alert level and is operating on full quarantine mode.