SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was reported in South Korea Tuesday, a day after the agriculture ministry confirmed an FMD case, according to local media reports.
The suspected FMD outbreak was reported at a beef cattle farm in Anseong, some 80 km south of the capital Seoul.
One out of five cows at the farm was tested positive for the acute infectious disease that causes fever and vesicles in the mouth and on the feet. The precision test result would come out later in the day.
It came a day after the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed the country's first FMD outbreak this year at a dairy farm in Anseong, about 15 km away from the beef cattle farm.
The ministry decided to cull all the 120 milk cows at the dairy farm, placing a 24-hour lockdown on 82 farms, where about 4,300 cloven-hoofed animals such as cow and pig are bred, within 3 km of the affected farm.
Livestock animals in cities and towns near Anseong would receive vaccination as soon as possible, the ministry said.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon held an emergency meeting, instructing officials to take bold and rapid measures, which can be considered too excessive, in an initial phase.
Lee said the infectious livestock disease could spread rapidly if the initial measure fails to tackle ahead of the Lunar New Year's holiday, during which people travel around the country to visit hometowns.
This year's Lunar New Year holiday falls on Feb. 4-6.
