Additional Footprint of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Antibodies Found in Ganghwa, Incheon... Emergency Vaccination Conducted for Cattle and Goats in Ganghwa and Gimpo

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Following the consecutive detection of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) infection (NSP) antibodies at five major farms in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has decided to conduct emergency vaccinations for cattle and goats in Ganghwa-gun and Gimpo-si. For the 21,000 farms nationwide raising 50 or more cattle, the ministry plans to complete all FMD NSP antibody tests by June this year.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that, due to additional detection of FMD NSP antibodies, it held the FMD Livestock Quarantine Review Committee on the 10th and decided to implement these quarantine measures.

Previously, FMD antibodies were detected at a pig farm in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, and antibodies were also found at a dairy farm in Ganghwa-gun. Subsequently, in inspections conducted by quarantine authorities within a 500m radius of the affected farms, additional antibodies were detected at two Hanwoo cattle farms in Ganghwa-gun. During the expanded inspection across Ganghwa-gun, antibodies were further detected at four Hanwoo cattle farms and one dairy farm.

So far, no livestock have shown clinical symptoms of FMD, and the FMD virus has not been detected. FMD infection antibodies are formed in animals’ bodies approximately 10 to 12 days after infection with the FMD virus. When only antibodies are detected without clinical symptoms or virus (antigen) confirmation, it is not classified as an FMD outbreak and poses no risk of transmission.

However, since additional NSP antibodies have been detected in Ganghwa-gun and five farms were found to have not properly vaccinated, enhanced quarantine measures including emergency vaccination will be implemented as a preventive measure against FMD.

First, emergency vaccinations will be conducted by the 23rd of this month for all cattle and goats (a total of 39,000 heads) in Ganghwa-gun, where FMD NSP antibodies were detected, as well as in the adjacent Gimpo-si area. The vaccination targets include approximately 35,000 heads of cattle across 610 farms and about 4,000 goats across 148 farms. Additionally, nationwide booster vaccinations will be carried out for animals that missed vaccination during last year’s nationwide simultaneous vaccination of cattle and goats.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will also designate and operate dedicated vehicles for transporting feed or livestock within Ganghwa-gun until movement restrictions on farms with NSP antibody detection are lifted. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency will monitor compliance by checking GPS location information attached to livestock-related vehicles.

Furthermore, control posts and disinfection facilities have been installed and are being operated at two bridges serving as passageways between Ganghwa-gun and Gimpo-si?Ganghwa Bridge and Chojidae Bridge. In Gyeonggi Province, including Gimpo-si, additional control posts and disinfection facilities are being installed and operated at major routes where vehicles enter from Ganghwa-gun. Intensive disinfection is also being conducted on farms, surrounding roads, and fences in 14 border cities and counties in Incheon Metropolitan City, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangwon Province.

The FMD antibody testing will also be completed early. The ministry plans to finish the FMD antibody tests early by June this year (originally planned for December) for full-time farms raising 50 or more cattle (21,000 farms nationwide). For the 13 border cities and counties (with Ganghwa-gun currently undergoing testing), testing will be prioritized and completed by the end of the special quarantine period on the 29th of next month. Farms nationwide without test results since November last year (16,000 farms) will complete testing by April 30, and the remaining farms (5,000 farms nationwide) will complete testing by the end of June.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.