People travelling to South Korea would have to think twice before doing so. More specifically, people who plan to go to South Korea and try out their Korean barbeque would really have to think twice as another strain of foot and mouth disease was just recently confirmed.
South Korea just recently raised the alert status for the country's foot and mouth disease to the highest when a second strain was confirmed, according to a report from Reuters. The second strain was discovered just after three days when the first outbreak was reported.
The first outbreak of the foot and mouth disease was discovered at a dairy farm in the southeastern city of Jeongeup on Monday. It's the first discovery in almost a year, via a report from Reuters.
According to Kim Kyeong-kyu, deputy minister for food industry policy, the A type strain, which is the second strain of the disease, was discovered at a dairy farm in Yeoncheon, which is approximately less than 50 miles north of the capital. The alert status was raised one notch to the maximum by Kim Kyeong-kyu as an apparent reaction to the outbreak of the O type strain. Kim Kyeong-kyu also said that 826 cattle had been discarded as of Wednesday.
"We are raising the alert level as foot-and-mouth cases occurred at different parts of the country and a second type of the disease emerged," Kim Kyeong-kyu said during a briefing.
The last time South Korea raised the country's foot and mouth disease alert status to the highest level was back in 2010. During that time, South Korea grappled with its worst ever outbreak.
South Korea has already taken emergency measures ever since the first outbreak. The emergency measures includes a nationwide vaccination and a movement control that is designed to contain the spread of the virus.
