Agricultural authorities in Taiwan ordered the slaughter yesterday of 132 dairy cows on farms hit by a renewed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
They also placed a ban on the movement of animals in a 3km-radius from the site of the outbreak in Yunlin County.
Officials from the Council of Agriculture (
The symptoms included reduced milk output, blisters on teats and ulcers on gums.
Similar symptoms were also found in two cattle on a nearby farm.
Laboratory tests showed the disease matches that of the Kinmen O-type FMD, which spread last year from Kinmen Island to Tainan County last June.
COA officials yesterday admitted they had no clues as to the source of the disease.
Agriculture authorities ordered an islandwide inoculation of 600,000 cloven-hoofed animals, including dairy cows, cattle, sheep and deer.
Ninety percent of Taiwan's pig population, which numbers over 7 million, have already been inoculated.
Government officials claim they have a stock of 3.36 million doses of FMD vaccine, left over from previous outbreaks.
This is the third outbreak in Taiwan since 1997, when 4 million pigs were killed to keep the disease from spreading.
The 1997 epidemic was the first in Taiwan in 50 years and devastated Taiwan's thriving pork industry, resulting in losses of over NT$160 billion.
With the addition of cloven-hoofed animals to the COA's inoculation scheme, the cost of FMD prevention will reach NT$336 million a year, according to the agency.
A Control Yuan report released yesterday morning criticized the COA, slamming it for failing to carry out its plan and eradicate FMD, despite massive funding.
* Authorities ordered the slaughter of 132 dairy cows yesterday
* A foot-and-mouth disease epidemic hit Taiwan's pork industry in 1997. Four million pigs had to be slaughtered, resulting in losses of NT$160 billion
* Taiwan has been classified as FMD-infected since the 1997 outbreak
The COA and the Provincial Department of Agriculture & Forestry (
But much of this money was wasted on equipment outlay, repairs to offices and vehicle purchases, the Control Yuan report said.
FMD is an acute, airborne contagious disease that infects mainly cloven-hoofed livestock and wild animals. It is the most malignant contagious disease of its type.
Taiwan has been classified as FMD-infected since the 1997 outbreak.
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