Gov't pledges readiness against foot-and-mouth

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- The government is ready to respond swiftly and
effectively to any future foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks, the head of the
animal quarantine service said Wednesday.
Lee Joo-ho, chief of the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service,
said in a news conference that government experts are checking farms throughout
the country for any signs of more cases of the highly contagious animal illness.
The country reported its first case of foot-and-mouth in eight years on Thursday
at a dairy farm in Pocheon, about 45 kilometers north of Seoul. The disease
affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs and goats, causing blisters on
the feet and mouth of livestock and often causing death.
The new outbreak has effectively halted all exports of local pork and other meats
from cloven-hoofed animals. South Korea has been hit by the disease twice before
in 2000 and 2002, resulting in damages worth 440 billion won (US$390 million).
"The goal of the nationwide inspections is to detect sick animals quickly,
conduct tests to confirm the presence of the FMD-causing virus and then take
quarantine measures that call for the culling and burial of all infected
livestock and those in nearby areas," he said.
The administrator said that the quarantine service maintains a laboratory that is
open 24-hours to swiftly check suspected cases.
Lee said all infected animals have been culled and that no further reports have
been picked up so far. Because the virus can remain dormant inside an animal for
up to two weeks, animals that have been infected may not appear sick for some
time.
After South Korea's "FMD free" status was automatically revoked by the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Lee said South Korea can ask the
Paris-based group for a review three months after the last confirmed outbreak has
been reported and the animals destroyed.
"If there are no further cases reported in the country South Korea can ask the
OIE for a review in April," he said. He, however, said that because there must be
on-site inspections and an expert committee convened to check all measures taken,
regaining the FMD-free status could take seven months to a year.
The designation allows South Korean exports of meat from cloven hoofed animals.
Before the outbreak, Seoul had shipped pork to Japan.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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