Gov't confirms 5th outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 3-4; ADDS new information, comments from
paras 5-10)
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- The government said Tuesday it has confirmed this
year's fifth outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at a beef cattle farm north of
Seoul, a development that threatens to further delay the resumption of South
Korean meat exports.
The farm, located in Yeoncheon about 10 kilometers away from where the first
outbreak was confirmed on Jan. 7, reported Monday that some of its animals were
starting to show symptoms of the illness, the agriculture ministry said.
All of the farm's 34 head of cattle will be culled, the ministry said, along with
28 head of cattle at a nearby farm that is within a 3 kilometer radius of the
outbreak to prevent the spread of the disease,
The latest case is the first to be confirmed outside of the Pocheon area, located
about 45km north of Seoul.
"The exact cause of the fifth outbreak is being examined in detail because there
is no known connection between this farm and those that had confirmed FMD cases
in the past," an official said. In earlier cases a veterinarian may have
unknowingly carried the virus from one farm to the next while checking animals.

"Because the owner of the farm also owned a feed store, frontline authorities are
ordering a recall of all products sold in recent weeks and plans to dispatch
quarantine officials to check livestock that came in contact with the feed," he
said.
The ministry, meanwhile, said it is investigating two cases in which cattle have
shown early symptoms like profuse salivation and unwillingness to eat fodder.
A dairy farm in Seosan, about 100km southwest of Seoul, has been quarantined and
will be decontaminated. Another dairy farm in Pocheon, about 20km away from the
first outbreak site, said its animals were sick. The Seosan farm has 79 cows,
while the Pocheon farm has 95 animals.
Definitive tests are expected to come out on Wednesday, with quarantine experts
banning movement of animals from farms. People and vehicles must be thoroughly
decontaminated before being allowed out of the farm and the surrounding
neighborhood.
Seoul said earlier in the day that it will not pay full compensation for animals
culled if farms with confirmed outbreaks are found not to have carried out
preventative decontamination.
The outbreak has halted all meat exports from South Korea, translating into
losses for its farmers and meat exporters. Under existing rules, a country can
apply for foot-and-mouth "free" status from the Paris-based World Organization
for Animal Health three months after the most recent case of the disease has been
confirmed and infected livestock culled.
Obtaining the status from the organization usually takes over seven months;
bilateral talks can be arranged to permit exports to individual countries.
Foot-and-mouth disease affects all cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, hogs and
goats, causing blisters on the feet and mouths of livestock and sometimes leading
to death.
It can be spread via air, feed and imported farm products that have not been
sterilized. Humans, though not affected by the disease, can be carriers.
yonngong@yna.co.kr