▲ Quarantine officials in protective suits enter a beef cattle farm in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, central South Korea, on May 11, 2023, to cull cattle after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed there and at two other beef cattle farms in the region. They were the first confirmed FMD cases in the country in more than four years. (Yonhap)

S Korea-FMD outbreak

S. Korea confirms additional foot-and-mouth disease case

SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has confirmed an additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) case at a local firm, raising this year's total cases to six, the agriculture ministry said Sunday.

The latest case was found at a beef cattle farm in Jeungpyeong County, North Chungcheong Province, which was raising 418 cows, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

It marked the first case reported outside the central city of Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, where all of the recent five FMD cases had been reported. The country confirmed FMD cases Wednesday for the first time in more than four years.

Authorities are culling several hundred cattle and carrying out intensive disinfection work in adjacent cities to prevent the spread of the contagious animal disease.

The government issued a temporary standstill order on all animal farms and related facilities in Cheongju, Jeungpyeong County and nearby regions to remain in effect until 8 p.m. Monday.

As a severe and highly transmissible viral disease, FMD causes illness in cows, pigs, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals. It does not affect humans.

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