Confirmed foot-and-mouth disease case is third since July

After foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed yesterday at a pig farm in Hapcheon County, South Gyeongsang, local authorities took follow-up measures to prevent the disease from spreading.

The pig farm reported symptoms suspected to be those of FMD Wednesday. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency confirmed yesterday that the animals had contracted the disease.

The provincial government also said yesterday that they have already culled 121 pigs that showed FMD symptoms at the farm.

The confirmation yesterday marks the third FMD case since the disease returned for the first time in three years. The first case this year was at a hog farm in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang, on July 24. while the second was at a farm in Goryeong County, also in North Gyeongsang, four days later.

Authorities are worried about the disease spreading because they have discovered that 217 more farms in the region have had either direct or indirect contact with the infected farm. They were all visited by a vehicle that stopped at the infected farm about two weeks ago.

The quarantine authority has set up eight control posts in Hapcheon and neighboring Changnyeong County.