S Korea guards against spread of foot-and-mouth disease

The South Korean government Wednesday called for the public cooperation in a bid to stem further spread of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease, as a large population of South Koreans are expected to return home soon for the Lunar New Year holidays.

The farm ministry advised the public to refrain from visiting farms and disinfect cars and people that visited the contaminated area during the holidays, which starts this Saturday.

South Koreans traveling abroad are advised to stay away from farms and avoid being in contact with animals, while bringing in meat products is strongly discouraged, the ministry said.

The move comes as the country scrambles to contain further spread of FMD by beefing up quarantine measures, following recent outbreaks of the highly contagious disease, which mainly affects cloven-hoofed animals including pigs, cattle and goats.

The first outbreak in eight years occurred on January 7 in a local cattle farm in Pochen in Gyeonggi Province, about 45 kilometers north of Seoul, raising concerns about a fall in dairy exports.

Source: Xinhua