Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak in Germany... Ministry of Agriculture Bans Pork Imports from Germany

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 11th that it will ban the import of pork and pork products from Germany following reports of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks there.

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Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious illness caused by the foot-and-mouth disease virus, affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep. It is designated as a Class 1 livestock infectious disease in South Korea.

Previously, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture confirmed that three buffaloes that died on a farm in Brandenburg were infected with foot-and-mouth disease and reported this to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This is the first occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany in 37 years since 1988. The last reported outbreak in Europe was in Bulgaria in 2011.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs also decided to conduct foot-and-mouth disease tests on pork products from Germany that were shipped after the 27th of last month and have arrived in South Korea. Additionally, it plans to monitor for foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in neighboring countries such as Poland, which are close to the affected areas in Germany.

Currently, 360 tons of German pork products are awaiting quarantine upon arrival in South Korea. These products were shipped from Germany between October 26 and November 17 of last year. Considering the maximum incubation period of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (14 days), the Ministry has determined there is no risk of infection and will proceed with customs clearance following the standard quarantine procedures.

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