MIYAKONOJO, JAPAN – Foot-and-mouth disease has reached Miyakonojo city, Japan’s largest producer of pork and beef, Japanese officials have confirmed. The spread of F.M.D. threatens Japan’s livestock industry and feed grain demand, according to Bloomberg.

Japan’s government confirmed the outbreak in a beef cattle farm in the city, which is located 50 kilometers from the eastern area of Miyazaki, where the most F.M.D. cases were discovered. A spokesman at the animal health division of the agriculture ministry said all 208 animals in the farm were culled, raising the number of culled animals due to the outbreak to approximately 158,600 thus far.


The first case of F.M.D. in Miyazaki was reported April 20. It was also the first outbreak of F.M.D. in Japan since 2000. To date, Japan has discovered about 186,200 cases, about 153,000 of which were in pigs.