Jeonbuk Province 'Stop the Entry of Cattle Lumpskin Disease into the Province'... Launches Full-Scale Response

Crisis Alert Level Raised from 'Interest' to 'Serious'

Enhanced Farm Surveillance and Disinfection of Coastal Risk Areas

540,000 Vaccines Secured Compared to Last Year's Overseas Influx

Jeonbuk Province is putting all its efforts into blocking the inflow and preventing the occurrence of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), which was first reported in Korea at a Hanwoo farm in Seosan City, Chungnam Province, on the 19th.

According to Jeonbuk Province and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 23rd, 17 cases have been reported mainly in the Chungcheong region, raising concerns about nationwide spread.

There have been no suspected reports of LSD in cattle farms within the province, and telephone surveillance of all cattle farms (9,651 farms) showed no abnormal signs. A diagnostic system has been established in cooperation with animal hygiene testing laboratories to enable rapid response upon suspected LSD reports.

On the 23rd, quarantine authorities in Seosan-si, Chungnam are conducting vaccination along with quarantine measures at a farm in Seongyeon-myeon, Seosan-si.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has raised the crisis alert level from 'Interest' to 'Severe' due to this LSD outbreak.

Notably, LSD, which has only occurred in cattle, mainly breaks out in Africa, Southeast Asia, Russia, China, and this is the first case of domestic inflow. In Northeast Asia, only Japan maintains its clean country status following the recent domestic outbreak.

The main vectors of this disease are blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes, flies, and ticks. It is a viral infectious disease classified as a Class 1 statutory livestock infectious disease. Infected cattle have a mortality rate below 10%, showing symptoms such as hard lumps on the skin, high fever, and loss of appetite. It is known not to be transmissible to humans.

Earlier, at the end of 2021, the government held a central livestock quarantine council meeting and urgently secured vaccines for 540,000 heads last year. Vaccinations were first administered within a 20 km radius of the initial outbreak area in Seosan on the 19th, and subsequently within 10 km radius units in affected areas.

In response to the spreading trend of LSD, the province took swift measures to block its inflow. From 2 p.m. on the 20th to 2 p.m. on the 22nd, a temporary movement suspension order (Stand Still) was issued for workers and vehicles related to cattle farms, and intensive control and surveillance activities against blood-sucking insects such as flies and mosquitoes, along with enhanced disinfection, were conducted.

The provincial governor leads the expanded and operated Livestock Disease Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters for rapid response. The operation of key disinfection facilities for livestock vehicles and control posts at provincial borders has been strengthened, 11 livestock markets have been closed, and gatherings and events at cattle farms have been banned.

A provincial quarantine official stated, "In case of suspected infected cattle, quarantine activities proceed in the order of detailed testing → confirmation → culling," adding, "We are focusing on blood-sucking insect control at ports close to China and monitoring the impact of cold weather and trends to prevent further spread."

The province has urgently allocated 200 million KRW for emergency quarantine expenses. Using fogging disinfection equipment from health centers and disinfection vehicles from the Livestock Cooperative Joint Control Team (46 teams), support is provided for controlling blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes, flies, and ticks, which are vectors of LSD, and disinfecting livestock farms. Field clinical surveillance has been strengthened with public veterinarians.

Kim Jong-hoon, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs, urged, "Cattle farmers should refrain from events and gatherings, strictly control the entry of outsiders and vehicles, and thoroughly disinfect inside and outside farms while controlling blood-sucking insects such as flies and mosquitoes." He added, "If you notice suspected symptoms of LSD such as high fever, lumpy skin nodules, or decreased milk production, please report immediately to quarantine authorities."

Meanwhile, in the Jeonbuk region, about 460,000 Korean native cattle (Hanwoo) and 30,000 dairy cows are being raised, totaling approximately 490,000 heads.

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