South Korea winning FMD battle

The worst appears to be over for South Korean livestock producers as the latest foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak appears to have peaked on the wake of a second round of vaccines. The epidemic forced Korean officials to slaughter nearly a third of the country’s hog and cattle herds. Damages caused by the outbreak are expected to hover around US $2.6 billion.

The Chosun Ilbo reports that the South Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced an improvement in slaughter totals for animals culled to stop the spread of FMD, indicting success in eradicating the disease from their herds. The decrease in daily cull numbers appears to be a result of the second wave of a vaccination campaign.

Nearly 74 percent of hogs and 99 percent of cattle had been vaccinated by Feb. 21.

"We're cautiously predicting that foot-and-mouth disease will abate early next month once vaccination is completed late this month.,” Yoo Jeong-bok, the country’s farm minister, told The Chosun Ilbo.

Yoo also told the Yonhap News Agency that damages are estimated at US$2.6 billion.  Damages are focused on the direct losses to livestock and compensation for quarantine efforts.

The FMD epidemic was first reported in November 2010. More than 3.3 million animals – primarily hogs – were culled to keep the disease from spreading. The country began their first round of vaccinations in late December, but the initial vaccinations were deemed unsuccessful as more cases continued to be reported and confirmed.

Like many of the country’s livestock producers, Lim Kang-soo, a cattle producer in the South Chungcheong Province, never believed his cows could fall victim to the contagious disease.

 "We sterilized ourselves head to toe whenever we stepped in and out of the shed," Lim said  to the Yonhap News Agency.  “Our village is tucked away deep in the hills, 60 kilometers (37 miles) away from the closest FMD case. How could this have happened?”

An independent investigation, commissioned by the Icheon municipality west of Seoul, released a report pointing to transmission by air – not direct contact – as a likely primary force behind the rapid spread of the disease.

"Judging by the fact that the FMD spread rapidly in heavily controlled areas while they were quarantined, there is great possibility that the disease was boosted by this winter's cold snap and strong winds, transmitting pathogens via air," said the Icheon municipality in a press release.

South Korea announced in January that 60,000 tons of imported frozen pork would be temporarily duty-free. Following the continued spread of the FMD outbreak, officials nearly doubled the quota for duty-free pork imports. Officials increased the quota by 50,000 tons to 110,000 tons. 

According to Bloomberg, South Korean pork imports are expects to jump by as much as 20 percent in 2011. The country imported roughly 180,000 metric tons of pork in 2010.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo, Yonhap News Agency, Bloomberg