Seoul: South Korea on Tuesday reported additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases at local cattle farms, raising the number of cases this year to 10, officials said. The latest cases were found at the farms in the county of Yeongam, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, these farms are located near a cattle farm where this year's first FMD case broke out last week for the first time in almost two years. In response to the initial outbreak, the government has escalated the crisis level for Yeongam and several other nearby regions to "serious," marking the highest level in its four-tier system.
The government has also initiated a nationwide FMD vaccination program, which was originally scheduled for next month, to contain the spread of the disease. FMD is an acute infectious viral disease affecting cows, pigs, goats, and other cloven-hoofed animals, although it does not pose a risk to humans.