S.Korea Finds More Disease in Pigs

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 13, 2002

S.Korea Finds More Disease in Pigs

The government said it would slaughter 40,000 pigs in central South Korea after 20 pigs tested positive Sunday in initial checks for the foot-and-mouth livestock disease.

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The government said it would slaughter 40,000 pigs in central South Korea after 20 pigs tested positive Sunday in initial checks for the foot-and-mouth livestock disease.

Hoping to halt the disease's spread, authorities will slaughter all pigs at farms within 1.8 miles from where initial cases were found, said Choi Myung-chul at the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry.

The first outbreaks early this month killed hundreds of pigs at a farm in Jinchon district and another in Ansung district, 60 miles south of Seoul. Four more cases were confirmed Saturday at two farms in Ansung and two others in nearby Yongin district all within 1.6 miles from where the initial cases were found.

On Sunday, 17 pigs at a farm in Yongin and three other pigs at a farm in Jinchon district tested positive in preliminary checks of the disease, Choi said.

The government has so far slaughtered some 35,000 livestock, mostly pigs, in an effort to contain the disease.

The ministry will take similar measures against other livestock if they are found to be infected, he said.

Soldiers and health officials are decontaminating farms, as well as vehicles entering and exiting the affected areas. Two-thirds of South Korea's 106 livestock markets have closed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Foot-and-mouth disease spreads rapidly among cloven-hoofed animals such as cows and pigs, but is not dangerous to humans. Infected animals first suffer blisters on their hooves and mouths which spread to internal organs killing the livestock.

The outbreak came ahead of the soccer World Cup to be co-hosted by South Korea and Japan on May 31-June 30.

The Japanese government has raised concerns about the possible spread of the disease when tourists visit the two countries during the tournament.

South Korea has called the concerns groundless as the contaminated area is far from World Cup venues.

Japan has banned the import of South Korean pigs and other livestock and now requires visitors who spent time near contaminated farms to disinfect their shoes at ports of entry.

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