# 5306
Three weeks after the first intelligence reports emerged suggesting that North Korea was battling outbreaks of FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease) (see Reports: FMD Suspected In North Korea), the NK government has reportedly requested assistance from the UN in combating the disease.
Two media reports, then I’ll return with a bit more on FMD. First this from the Korean Herald.
U.N. to help with FMD outbreaks in N.K.
2011-02-11 19:13
Seoul remains lukewarm toward assistance amid stalemate in ties
The U.N. has said it will send experts to North Korea next week over a purported foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, in the first international move to help the impoverished state curb the fast-spreading livestock virus.
And this from the Daily NK, a NK government opposition newspaper published in South Korea.
North Korea Calls for FMD Assistance
By Cheong Sun Jin, Intern
[2011-02-10 17:52 ]
North Korea has confirmed suspicions that it is battling an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, meaning that the disease has now reached every corner of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang unexpectedly reported the outbreak to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) yesterday, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Given that diseases tend not to respect political borders, even one as tightly controlled as the Korean DMZ, it isn’t altogether surprising that North Korea should be seeing outbreaks at the same time that South Korea is dealing with the worst FMD epidemic in their history.
According to a recent AFP report, South Korea’s agriculture ministry has spent (US) $1.7 billion fighting their FMD epidemic, culling and burying more than 3 million head of livestock since November. At the same time, the South has been combating a major outbreak of bird flu.
FMD (not to be confused with HFMD – a usually mild viral illness common to children) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven hoof animals, but almost never `infects’ humans.
The virus primarily spreads through the movement of infected animals, contaminated vehicles, or feed.
Humans are also capable of spreading the disease, as the virus may be carried on clothing and footwear for days, and reportedly can remain viable in human nasal passages for more than 24 hours.
FMD is endemic in many parts of the world (Africa, Asia, South America, some parts of Europe), but has been eradicated in many others. The last outbreak of FMD in the United States was in 1929 – but vigilance is maintained to prevent its return.
(current outbreaks FMD – Source OIE)
There are 7 known types of FMD, along with numerous sub-types. Immunity to one type does not provide immunity to the others, and the virus continues to mutate, making it even harder to create and maintain vaccine stocks.
Both Japan and Korea detected FMD in the spring of 2010, and after the destruction of 290,000 head of livestock, Japan declared their FMD crisis over in August.
In South Korea, however, outbreaks have continued. In an attempt to control FMD, in addition to culling, South Korea has embarked on an extensive vaccination campaign.
North Korea, on the other hand, lacks many of the basic resources found in the South. Chronic food shortages make culling of animals a difficult choice, and vaccines against FMD are currently unavailable in the north.
South Korea has supplied emergency relief supplies and expertise to the North in the past when FMD was reported. But in the wake of the attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November and the sinking of South Korea's Cheonan warship last March, relations between the two nations are in serious decline.
While there is little enthusiasm for assisting the North in the wake of these recent provocations, allowing a virulent animal disease to spread unchecked just across the DMZ may ultimately prove to be a far less attractive option.
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