No Cases of 'Bovine Brucellosis' Reported in 10 Cities and Counties of Northern Gyeonggi Over the Past 3 Years

Blood collection for bovine brucellosis testing

It has been reported that no cases of bovine brucellosis have occurred in the northern Gyeonggi region over the past three years.

The Northern Gyeonggi Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory announced on the 27th that, after conducting brucellosis tests on cattle farms in 10 cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi over the past three years, not a single case was detected, maintaining a brucellosis-free status.

Bovine brucellosis is a second-class legally designated livestock infectious disease caused by Brucella bacteria, which induces abortion and infertility. Once it occurs, it is difficult to eradicate and causes significant damage to farms. In particular, when bovine brucellosis is confirmed, quarantine measures such as culling infected cattle, conducting more than three retests on cohabiting cattle, and tracing inspections of cattle farms within a 500-meter radius are implemented.

It is a representative zoonotic disease that can also infect humans and is designated as a major livestock disease managed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

To prevent bovine brucellosis, Gyeonggi Province tested 62,092 cattle aged one year or older in 10 northern cities and counties in 2021, 60,993 in 2022, 54,242 last year, and 30,000 up to July this year for infection.

Jung Bong-su, director of the Northern Gyeonggi Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory, stated, "To maintain the brucellosis-free status, we conduct tests on all traded cattle and dairy cows, and in case of occurrence, we will strengthen post-management such as isolating infected livestock, disinfection inspections for farm re-entry, and barn environment inspections."

Meanwhile, nationwide, bovine brucellosis occurred in 1,147 cattle across 114 farms in 2022, 832 cattle across 57 farms last year, and 335 cattle across 35 farms this year.

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