Nearly 3.1 million livestock had been culled and buried at 4,000 sites as of Sunday since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Korea on Nov. 29 last year. Now there are fears that some sites were hastily chosen and could subside, releasing the virus and other toxins into the environment again.
The fears concern 61 burial sites in North Gyeongsang Province, where altogether 750 were surveyed on Jan. 10, but the number may rise when the survey is expanded, according to the Ministry of Environment and the provincial government on Sunday.
The province is where the first case of the disease was reported.
The main reason is that local and quarantine authorities focused only on limiting spread of foot-and-mouth disease and buried infected animals in unsuitable places such as river banks, slopes, and valley. If the soil collapses when it thaws in the spring or rains heavily, the sites will be washed away, the virus spread again, and water contaminated with decaying animal carcasses.
A government official pledged to reinforce the burial sites as soon as the costs and supply are available to prevent further infection. The government decided to investigate burial sites nationwide this month.
