Date: Wed 15 Dec 2010
Source: The Korea Times [edited]
<http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/113_78050.html>
The government reported 2 additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease
(FMD) at pig farms north of Seoul on Wednesday [15 Dec 2010], fueling
worries over a nationwide spread of the disease that was first
reported in a city located hundreds of kilometers south of the capital.
The additional cases were confirmed at farms in Yangju
[<http://healthmap.org/r/0i_6>] and Yeoncheon
[<http://healthmap.org/r/0i_5>], according to the Ministry of Food,
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. "The farms have about 1200 pigs
each and are owned by the same farmer," it said.
The outbreak of the animal disease was first reported 29 Nov 2010 at 2
pig farms in Andong, a city located 270 km [168 mi] southeast of Seoul.
The cases in Yangju and Yeoncheon, both north of Seoul, mark the 1st
cases of the disease outside of North Gyeongsang Province.
So far, South Korea has reported 48 suspected cases of FMD, 32 of
which have been confirmed positive [in fact, 33 confirmed outbreaks
had been officially notified to OIE up to 11 Dec 2010. - Mod.AS]
The government is further stepping up its quarantine efforts, already
having destroyed nearly 98 percent of more than 152 000 animals
subject to culling, according to the ministry.
South Korea stayed clear of the animal disease from 2002 until the
beginning of this year [2010]. The disease affects all cloven-hoofed
animals, including cows, sheep, and deer. Countries affected by the
disease are barred from exporting meat from animals with cloven hoofs
though the disease does not affect humans.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The spread of FMDV serotype O (most likely topotype SEA, strain
Mya-98, which was responsible for the earlier 2010 outbreak in South
Korea as well as the major 2010 epizootic in Japan) into 2 separate
locations, Yeoncheon County ("Yeoncheon-gun") and Yangju city, both in
Gyeonggi Province (more than 250 km [155 mi] north west of the
infected area in North Gyeongsang province), is a cause for grave
concern. This concern is accentuated by the involvement of pigs in
large numbers on these 2 farms: pigs are known to be prolific emitters
of the FMD virus, able to enhance its short-distance -- as well as, in
certain climatic conditions, long-distance -- airborne spread,
exposing susceptible animals (particularly cattle) to infection.
The initial outbreaks in the south east (Andong, late November 2010)
and the current outbreaks north of Seoul, started on pig farms; since
pigs are readily infected by the oral route, the possibility of animal
feed (such as swill) as a source of introduced or extended infection
deserves to be investigated.
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, South
Korea's largest city and national capital, is located in the heart of
the province, but is separately administered as a 'provincial-level
special city'.
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