Posted on 05/09/2002 9:45:26 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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Foot and mouth disease strikes World Cup host |
| 16:40 08 May 02 |
| NewScientist.com news service |
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Foot and mouth disease has broken out in South Korea, four weeks before football's World Cup is due to begin there. Korean officials are feverishly trying to stamp out the disease, especially as one of the venues for the tournament - Daejeon - is in the path of the outbreak.
With twelve national teams and several hundred thousand supporters due to converge on Korea at the end of May, there are fears that some could carry the virus back home, or to FMD-free Japan, which is co-hosting the tournament.
David Paton, at the UK's Institute for Animal Health at Pirbright says: "I would advise people to avoid contact with farm animals in Korea, and when they return home. And they shouldn't bring any animal products back with them."
The 2001 outbreak of FMD in the UK led to the slaughter of millions of animals. Numerous sporting events were cancelled to try to halt the spread of the disease. But Andreas Herren, spokesman for the world football association FIFA, says those were mostly sports that involved animals, such as horse racing. "The World Cup will go ahead as planned," he told New Scientist.
The first FMD outbreak was in early May, at Anseong, 100 kilometres south of the capital, Seoul. All 8420 pigs on the farm were destroyed and movements of animals and vehicles for 20 km around were limited.
However, unlike in the UK, the Korea outbreak has infected pigs, which cough out 100 times more virus than sheep or cattle. Soon after the first outbreak, another farm at Jinchon was infected. It was 25 km further south - outside the restricted zone - suggesting airborne spread.
Daejeon, the venue for matches involving South Africa, Spain, Poland and the US is 30 km south of Jinchon. But if this outbreak strikes throughout the country, as the one in 2000 did, all 10 Korean venues could be surrounded by sick animals.
Joint favourites France and Brazil begin the tournament in Korea and will almost certainly progress to matches in Japan, taking their travelling supporters with them.
The World Organisation for Animal Health in Paris has confirmed that the virus is the Pan-Asian O virus that hit the UK in 2001, and Korea and Japan in 2000.
Korea contained that outbreak by vaccinating animals, but had recently stopped vaccinating again. Pirbright plans to sequence the virus from the two outbreaks. This could show whether the current one is a fresh invasion, or a leftover that somehow survived vaccination - though proving that would be difficult.
The result could affect whether countries use vaccination or mass slaughter to control FMD outbreaks in future. |
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Debora MacKenzie |
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This story is from NewScientist.com's news service - for more exclusive news and expert analysis every week subscribe to New Scientist print edition. |
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But many of them are still alive and working. Perhaps the strain that struck US media was not strong enough :).
So far no such news, fortunately. No human cases. You are right. I am sure some of them like hoofs, favorite side dish when you have some drink stronger than beer :).
4 hours of guys running and kicking a ball around to end in a 1-1 tie doesn't sound so spectacular to me. (Okay so the games are only an hour or so. They seem like 4 hours) I actually prefer watching paint dry, at least there I know something is getting accomplished. < end of mini rant >
Obviously the whole world isn't waiting. I'd guess that most of us don't know and really don't care. When does the 'real' football season start. That's what we are waiting for. Go Packers!
God Save America (Please)
It is a culture gap. Apparently other people in the world do not mind. About the lack of score, it used to be that soccer game generated a lot of goals, more than Ice Hockey does these days. Then, came the Slam-Shut defense, perfected by Italy. And Germany. Just like American Football, those who mastered defense usually win these days. That is how France won last time. They had decent offense but great defense. Brazil's offense got out of sync and never recovered. Offense is not so colorful or spectacular as 20 years ago.
One can speculate that God cares about the World Cup enough to display his displeasure on selection of World Cup venue. But I should say that is a bit stretch. I suppose you have better connection to God than I. So why don't you ask God what he is up to in rural S. Korea, molesting pigs ? :).
Well, I thought that God had better things to do than molesting pigs. It is ungodly to compete against humans he created to show he is on top of everything. You won't get many holy brownie points by dragging God into this thing. Do not jeopardise your soul this way. It is not worth it.
adj 1: grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred; "blasphemous rites of a witches' Sabbath"; "profane utterances against the Church"; "it is sacrilegious to enter with shoes on" [syn: profane, sacrilegious] 2: characterized by profanity or cursing; "foul-mouthed and blasphemous"; "blue language"; "profane words" [syn: blue, profane]
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University
Actually, blasphemy does not necessarily have anything to do with God. Some folks hold the World Cup to be sacred.
If anyone dragged God into this, you did- by assuming that I meant that the blasphemy was directed towards God. Since your last post had a smily face on it, I assumed it was made in jest and responded in jest.
You think I was off the humor mode ? :).
Would it be at all surprising if some of these misanthropic a-holes were repeating the trick in S. Korea, site of not only worldly fun/games/capitalism, but also dog-on-the-platter?
They do have a plenty of intents. So far, they do not have means to carry it out. Let's hope that they do not have powerful sponsor like Saddam Hussein or a Saudi prince :).
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