South Korea has foot and mouth disease

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SEOUL, South Korea _ South Korea reported its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in eight years, prompting quarantine officials to prepare to slaughter cows, pigs and other animals to stop its spread, an official said Thursday.< Six out of 185 dairy cows at a farm in Pocheon, about 30 miles (45 kilometres) north of Seoul, tested positive, Agriculture Ministry official Lee Chang-buhm told reporters.< He said quarantine workers will slaughter 1,500 pigs, 346 dairy cows and several dozens of deer and goats within a 500 metre (0.3 mile) radius of the site of the outbreak to stem the possible spread of the disease.< ``The slaughter will begin immediately,'' Lee said.< He also said the government imposed restrictions on the movement of the animals and disinfected the area within 10 kilometres (6 mile) radius of the outbreak site.< Foot-and-mouth disease is often is fatal for cloven-hoofed animals including cows, sheep, pigs and goats, causing blisters on the mouth and feet. It does not affect humans.< Authorities slaughter animals to stop its spread because outbreaks often prompt governments to ban meat imports from the affected country.< The disease last hit South Korea in 2002 when some 160,000 pigs either died of the disease or were slaughtered to prevent its spread.<