Lumpiskin Vaccination Starts in April... Government Launches Full-Scale Measures to Prevent Recurrence

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 24th that it will implement quarantine measures such as vaccination, system improvement, surveillance and control based on risk levels, and public-private-academic cooperation according to the '2024 Lumpy Skin Disease Quarantine Management Basic Plan' to prevent the recurrence of lumpy skin disease, which occurred for the first time last year in domestic cattle.

First, 1.29 million cattle in 40 cities and counties, including high-risk areas identified through risk assessment and regions where outbreaks occurred in 2023, will be vaccinated in April before vector insects such as biting flies that transmit lumpy skin disease become active. Vaccination for 2.67 million cattle in other regions is planned to be completed by October.

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Farms with 50 or more cattle will conduct self-vaccination over two weeks from the 1st to the 14th of next month, while vaccination support teams consisting of public veterinarians and others (261 teams, 486 personnel) will assist small-scale farms with fewer than 50 cattle and farms where self-vaccination is difficult due to reasons such as advanced age throughout April.

Additionally, since the 2023 outbreaks were concentrated in the West Coast region and the risk of introduction through ports is considered high, focused surveillance and control will be conducted on farms and roads adjacent to ports in preparation.

Along with this, the Ministry will continuously monitor the occurrence of lumpy skin disease overseas and implement border control measures such as disinfection at major ports and quarantine of imported raw material transport vehicles to block the entry of pathogens or vectors into the country through human and material exchanges with affected countries.

Furthermore, after gathering opinions from producer organizations and experts, the Ministry plans to improve systems such as the emergency standard operating procedures (SOP) and continuously operate a public-private-academic expert council composed of field, academic, related organizations, and quarantine agency experts to enhance the efficiency of quarantine policies.

Choi Jeong-rok, Director of the Quarantine Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "Last year, bold quarantine measures and rapid vaccination during the initial outbreak of lumpy skin disease stabilized the situation in about a month, minimizing damage to livestock farms, but the situation is still not safe. We ask that vaccination be thoroughly carried out according to the correct vaccination guidelines to prevent recurrence of lumpy skin disease."

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