Gimhae City Conducts Mass FMD Vaccination for Cattle and Goats in the First Half of the Year

Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, will conduct a mass foot-and-mouth disease vaccination for cattle and goat farms for one month starting in April.
[Image source=Gimhae City]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, will conduct a mass vaccination of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines for cattle and goats from April 1 to May 12, targeting 23,318 heads across 757 farms within the jurisdiction in the first half of the year.

Although the 'Special FMD Quarantine Period,' which was operated for six months starting last October, has ended, FMD continues to occur overseas, including in China. To address issues of missed vaccinations due to varying vaccination schedules by farm and individual animals, the city has decided to designate one month each in the first and second halves of the year as mass vaccination months for FMD.

During this period, to ensure systematic vaccination, a vaccination team composed of seven public veterinarians will efficiently vaccinate elderly and small-scale farms (farms with 50 or fewer cattle, and goat farms).

Additionally, vaccines will be provided free of charge to small-scale farms, while 50% of the cost will be supported for full-time large-scale farms (farms with more than 50 cattle).

For post-vaccination management, within four weeks after the mass vaccination, the city will collaborate with the Central Branch of the Gyeongsangnam-do Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory to monitor vaccine antibodies (SP antibodies). Based on the results, farms with antibody levels below the standard (80% for cattle, 60% for goats) will be subject to fines, restrictions on policy fund support, and livestock transaction limitations. The city plans to focus on managing farms with low antibody formation rates to strengthen quarantine management.

Kim Sang-jin, Director of the Agricultural Technology Center, stated, “To prevent the outbreak of FMD, we urge farms to rigorously implement vaccination and strict disinfection inside and around livestock barns as part of their own quarantine measures.”

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