In response to last year's outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Yeongam and Muan, Jeonnam Gwangju is conducting antibody testing for cattle and goat farms to prevent the recurrence of livestock infectious diseases.
The Jeonnam Gwangju Animal Hygiene Testing Institute announced on October 10 that it will conduct monitoring tests on 487 cattle and goat farms by the end of the month. This includes checking antibody levels following the second half of the foot-and-mouth disease vaccination and assessing outdoor virus exposure.
The testing initiative was prompted by recent outbreaks in cattle farms in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and Ganghwa, Incheon, to evaluate vaccination practices and identify potential infections early.
The farms selected for testing include those that did not undergo antibody testing last year or had low antibody levels, as well as those that self-administer vaccines.
The testing will cover 458 cattle farms and 29 goat farms. Among the cattle farms, 229 are small-scale with fewer than 50 cattle, while 229 are larger commercial farms with 50 or more. For goats, 19 small-scale farms have fewer than 300 goats, and 10 commercial farms have 300 or more.
Testing will involve five cattle from small farms and 16 from commercial farms.
Farms that do not meet the antibody positivity rates of 80% for cattle and 60% for goats will face administrative actions, including fines. These farms will need to re-vaccinate and undergo additional testing.
In addition to the antibody testing, if any positive cases are found in the outdoor virus infection tests, those animals will be classified as suspected infections, leading to movement restrictions.
Expanded testing will follow, and additional biosecurity measures will be implemented according to emergency action guidelines for foot-and-mouth disease.
The experience from last year's outbreaks in Yeongam and Muan is a significant factor in this testing initiative.
Jeong Ji-young, head of the Jeonnam Gwangju Animal Hygiene Testing Institute, stated, "Given the 19 cases of foot-and-mouth disease that occurred last year in Yeongam and Muan, the importance of biosecurity measures this year is greater than ever. We urge farms to thoroughly implement vaccination and regular disinfection practices."
Additionally, in a monitoring test conducted in April for the first half of the year, the Jeonnam Gwangju Animal Hygiene Testing Institute found that out of 6,115 animals from 631 farms, 6,001 showed antibody presence, resulting in a 98.1% positivity rate. The institute plans to further assess the effectiveness of vaccinations and infection risks through this second half of the year testing.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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