Imsil-gun's Full Effort to Block 'Lumpy Skin Disease'... Operation of the Disease Control Headquarters

Published 25 Oct.2023 11:02(KST)

Imsil County in Jeonbuk has been making every effort to block and prevent the inflow of Lumpy Skin Disease into the county since the 20th, following the consecutive outbreaks in small cattle farms in Chungnam, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon regions.

According to the county on the 25th, Lumpy Skin Disease, a Class 1 livestock infectious disease, is a viral disease that infects only cattle, causing a sharp decline in milk production due to hard nodules on the skin and mucous membranes, as well as leather damage and miscarriages.

Imsil-gun has been conducting disinfection of cattle farms since the 21st, mobilizing the joint pest control team and county office disinfection vehicles.
[Photo by Imsil-gun]

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs raised the crisis level to "serious" and temporarily suspended movement of cattle farms, livestock vehicles, and livestock facilities until the 24th.

The county urgently established the Lumpy Skin Disease Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters to operate a preemptive quarantine system to prevent the virus from entering the jurisdiction, maintaining a 24-hour emergency system.

The local livestock market has been closed, and key disinfection facilities are being operated to strengthen disinfection of livestock vehicles entering farms.

In addition, the joint pest control team (3 pest control vehicles, 3 personnel) and the county office disinfection vehicle (1 vehicle) have been disinfecting cattle farms since the 21st.

To control blood-sucking insects (such as stable flies, mosquitoes, and ticks), which are major transmission factors of Lumpy Skin Disease, thorough pest control is being conducted in cattle farms and nearby areas.

Moreover, publicity efforts are being strengthened for livestock farms to encourage intensive disinfection of water puddles and compost sheds, which are habitats for flies and mosquitoes.

So far, there have been no reported or suspected cases of Lumpy Skin Disease in Imsil County, but tension remains high due to the large number of Hanwoo (dairy cattle) farms.

County Governor Shim Min said, “To block the inflow of the virus, we ask farms to focus on disinfection inside and outside the barns and pest control,” adding, “Please report immediately to the county agricultural and livestock department if any abnormalities occur.”