South Korea confirmed an additional case of foot - and - mouth disease ( FMD ) in the country ' s central region on Tuesday , though nationwide vaccinations and quarantine efforts are having some effect on containing the disease . The additional case at a pig farm in Yesan , 134 kilometers south of Seoul , brings the total number of confirmed FMD outbreaks to 121 , since animals started showing symptoms in late November , the Ministry of Food , Agriculture , Forestry and Fisheries said . The latest outbreak comes after no confirmed case was tallied by the central government on Monday , while only one outbreak was reported on Saturday and Sunday , respectively . All 3 , 000 pigs on the farm have been ordered destroyed along with livestock within a 500 - meter radius of the site to prevent further spread of the disease , the ministry said . FMD is highly contagious and affects all cloven - hoofed animals such as cattle , pigs , deer , goats and buffalo . It is classified as a ' List A ' disease by the Paris - based World Organization for Animal Health , although it is harmless to humans . The disease , meanwhile , has forced Seoul to cull and bury over 2 . 1 million heads of cattle , pigs , goats and deer with damage estimated to run to around 2 trillion won ( US $ 1 . 78 billion ) . The country had moved to vaccinate a limited number of animals on Dec . 25 after initial quarantine efforts proved inadequate to control the outbreak that has spread to most parts of the country . Seoul said last week that it will vaccinate all livestock across the country , including those on Jeju Island off the country southwestern coast , which have not been affected so far . South Korea has some 13 million cows and pigs in the country . In addition to the latest series of outbreaks , the country was hit by the disease in 2000 , 2002 and two more times early last year . ( Yonhap News )