'Special Foot-and-Mouth Disease Quarantine'... Gyeonggi-do to Conduct 'Mass Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccination' Starting Next Month 1

Testing Strengthened for Antibody Formation Rates by Farm for 8,830 Cattle and Goat Farms with 515,000 Animals
Slaughterhouses to Inspect Cattle and Pig Farms

Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gyeonggi Province is promoting the "second half foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine mass vaccination" for cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle and goats in the province throughout October, coinciding with the upcoming "Special FMD Prevention Period" starting next month.

According to the province on the 24th, starting from the 1st of next month, vaccination will begin targeting a total of 515,000 animals across 8,830 cattle and goat farms in the province, excluding nine cities and counties identified as high-risk FMD outbreak areas where mass vaccination has already been underway since the 6th.

To facilitate this, small-scale farms (with fewer than 50 cattle) will receive vaccines purchased in bulk by the respective city or county authorities and distributed free of charge. Farms of commercial scale or larger will purchase vaccines directly from livestock cooperative animal hospitals, with 50% of the vaccine cost subsidized.

To prevent missed vaccinations, public veterinarians will assist with vaccinations for livestock farms where vaccination is difficult, including goat farms, all small-scale cattle farms, and elderly farmers among commercial-scale farms.

Farms eligible for vaccination can apply for vaccination support at their local town, township, or neighborhood office, and public veterinarians will provide the vaccination services.

The province plans to strengthen antibody formation rate inspections by farm for cattle and pigs shipped to slaughterhouses to accurately verify vaccination status.

If a farm is found to have a low FMD antibody positive rate, a fine ranging from 5 million to 10 million KRW will be imposed, and the farm will be excluded from priority selection for government support programs such as preventive medicine assistance.

Currently, the province has raised antibody positive rates to 98.7% for cattle and 93.8% for pigs, but aims to maintain high antibody positive rates through thorough mass vaccination.

Meanwhile, since the first FMD outbreak in 2000, the province has culled 1.9 million cloven-hoofed livestock through a total of nine FMD outbreaks. Recently, in 2019, two cases occurred in Anseong, resulting in the culling of 2,223 animals.

Kim Jong-hoon, Director of the Animal Quarantine and Hygiene Division, stated, "FMD outbreaks occurred every year from 2010 to 2019, and recently NSP (infection antibodies) were detected in Hongseong, Chungnam, increasing the risk of FMD outbreaks. Thorough vaccination is the best way to prevent FMD, so we urge all cloven-hoofed livestock farmers in the province to actively participate."