South Korea Detects Foot-and-Mouth Disease Case

(MENAFN) South Korean authorities on Saturday verified the nation’s first instance of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in nine months at a cattle operation located along the country’s northwestern shoreline, a media account said.

The infection was identified and officially validated at a livestock farm in Incheon, prompting rapid emergency actions, a news agency reported, quoting government officials.

Following the detection, warning statuses in Incheon and the adjacent city of Gimpo were immediately elevated from “attention” to “serious,” indicating the launch of an all-out containment effort.

Specialized quarantine and epidemic response personnel were dispatched to the affected site to curb the spread, and all 246 cattle at the facility are scheduled for culling in line with preventive health regulations.

Authorities also enforced a 48-hour shutdown on the movement of farm workers and vehicles associated with agricultural and livestock operations throughout Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.

In addition, dozens of sanitation teams were mobilized to disinfect farms and surrounding roadways to prevent further transmission.

Foot-and-mouth disease targets cloven-hoofed animals, including cows, pigs, and goats, but it does not threaten human health.

South Korea’s previous FMD incident was documented in April of last year.

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