Foot-and-mouth disease in South Korea signals regional risk

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is calling for veterinary and border control authorities in Asia to be on alert for animals showing signs of infection by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), following an unprecedented outbreak of the livestock-affecting sickness in South Korea.

Since late November 2010, South Korean authorities have imposed quarantines, initiated a vaccination campaign that is targeting nine million pigs and three million heads of cattle, and culled 2.2 million livestock. The overall cost of this effort is estimated at around $1.6 billion.