South Korea confirms 14 cases of foot-and-mouth disease

Seoul:  South Korea reported an additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) case at a local cattle farm, raising the number of cases this year to 14, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.

The latest case was found at the farm in the county of Yeongam, about 300 kilometres south of Seoul, which has 31 cows, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Yonhap news agency reported.

FMD is an acute infectious viral disease that causes illness in cows, pigs, goats, and other cloven-hoofed animals. It does not affect humans.

The infectious viral disease in livestock causes fever after developing vesicles chiefly in the mouth and on the feet. It is one of the most infectious diseases for livestock.

The latest outbreak comes after two years. The country last reported FMD cases in May 2023.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok has directed relevant ministries to implement thorough preventive measures to contain the outbreak at an early stage.

“The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs must closely cooperate with relevant agencies to swiftly carry out emergency actions, including rapid culling, entry controls, testing and disinfection, in accordance with the emergency response guidelines,” Choi said.

Earlier in January, South Korea placed an import ban on German pork following an outbreak of the highly contagious FMD disease in the European nation, Yonhap reported.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the decision was made after Germany reported its first FMD case since 1988.

The ministry added it also expects little impact on exports of beef as deals are usually made by regions.

Last year, South Korea exported 49.5 tonnes of beef worth $2.9 million to five countries, including Malaysia, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia.

Seoul has been working to gain recognition from the World Organization for Animal Health as a country free of FMD, but failed after the disease broke out in 2023.

–IANS