Foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed to have spread to a cow Tuesday, raising concerns that the disease would infect other cloven-hoofed animals besides pigs.
One cow at a farm in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, had tested positive for the viral disease in the final examination, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said. The cow was found Monday to be drooling ― a common symptom of the disease.
This is the first confirmed case of a cow with foot-and-mouth disease since 2012. Only pigs had been found to have been infected since the disease broke out again last month.
The quarantine authorities stressed that it was unlikely the disease would spread to other cows at the farm.
“Only one poorly immunized cow showed the symptom. Further transmission will be limited as all other cows at the farm showed a 94 percent antibody formation rate,” the Agriculture Ministry said. About 50 cows are being raised on the farm.
Anseong was struck severely by foot-and-mouth disease from late 2010 to 2011. More than 207,000 livestock were slaughtered, causing losses of 40 billion won ($36 million).
Meanwhile, a dozen more pigs were confirmed to have the contagious disease. The animals were immediately culled while other uninfected pigs were being monitored, the quarantine authorities said.
The first case was discovered in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, on Dec. 3 and about 27,000 animals at 35 farms across the country had been culled as of Tuesday.
As part of the efforts to contain the outbreak, the Agriculture Ministry vowed to strengthen the preventive measures. In the second sterilization measure to be taken nationwide, all livestock-related trucks will be subject to disinfection measures starting Wednesday.
The ministry also toughened penalties for farm owners who do not follow the vaccination and disinfection measures.
By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)
