South Korea reported additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on Sunday despite nationwide efforts to prevent the highly contagious animal illness from spreading further.
FMD cases were reported at a pig farm in Bongwha in the southeastern part of the country and at other farms in North Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces, which are located south and east of Seoul, respectively, according to the agriculture ministry.
The additional cases brought the number of confirmed FMD cases in the country to 115 after the first outbreak was reported in late November. The outbreak has been spreading fast despite the government's intensifying efforts at containment
The government said that it started to expand vaccination, mainly in and around the nation's southern provinces, which have yet to report any confirmed FMD outbreaks, officials said. The move is deemed as a preventative step in strengthening the "defense line" against the disease.
As of Sunday, the disease has spread to most parts of the country except for the southern provinces with over 1.2 million animals already destroyed or subject to culling.
FMD affects all animals with cloven hooves, including cattle, pigs, sheep and deer. The latest outbreak marked the third of its kind in 2010 when the country reported its first confirmed case since 2002.
Adding to fears over the FMD, officials said that they also confirmed cases of avian influenza (AI) at three poultry farms in South Jeolla Province. It is the first time that the southwestern province reported the disease since 2008.
Out of a total of 20 suspected AI cases, seven have been confirmed positive so far, with one case turning out to be negative. The other 12 cases are still under investigation, officials said.