Additional Foot-and-Mouth Disease Confirmed at Cattle Farm in Ganghwa… 3 Heads Test Positive During Release of Quarantine Zone

An additional infected cattle was confirmed during surveillance testing to lift the foot-and-mouth disease quarantine in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon. Quarantine authorities are restricting access to the affected farm and launching intensive disinfection efforts for cloven-hoofed animal farms and livestock transport vehicles nationwide.

The Central Disaster Management Headquarters for Foot-and-Mouth Disease announced on October 28 that foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed at a cattle farm in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon. The farm raises 23 head of cattle, and three of them were confirmed to be positive for foot-and-mouth disease antigens during surveillance testing.

This farm is located within a 3km radius quarantine zone associated with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Ganghwa-gun on September 16 and 19. It was already under quarantine management, including movement restrictions, and a positive case was discovered during the inspection process to lift the quarantine zone.

With this additional outbreak, the total number of foot-and-mouth disease cases this year has risen to 15. By region, there were 9 cases in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, 2 in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and 4 in Ganghwa, Incheon.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters has dispatched an initial response team and an epidemiological investigation team to the farm in question to control the entry of outsiders, livestock, and vehicles, and is conducting an epidemiological investigation. The three animals confirmed to be infected are planned to be culled. If any additional animals show clinical symptoms or test positive for antigens, partial culling will be carried out on those animals as well.

In Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province, which is adjacent to Ganghwa-gun, the outbreak area, cloven-hoofed animal farms, livestock facilities, and livestock transport vehicles are under special management. 33 available resources, including wide-area sprayers and disinfection vehicles, are being mobilized to intensively disinfect and wash farms and surrounding roads.

Nationwide disease control measures will also be strengthened. From October 29 to November 4, a "Nationwide Simultaneous Intensive Disinfection Week" will be conducted to intensively disinfect cloven-hoofed animal farms and livestock transport vehicles. For livestock transport vehicles, disinfection will cover not only the wheels and cargo areas but also the interior, including footrests and steering wheels. Vaccinations will also be carried out by simultaneously investigating any unvaccinated cattle at farms nationwide.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters requested that relevant agencies and local governments devote all their efforts to disease control measures, such as surveillance, intensive disinfection, and management of infection antibodies (NSP), now that additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been confirmed in existing outbreak areas. In particular, it urged farms raising cloven-hoofed animals, such as cattle and pigs, in the affected areas to prevent missed vaccinations, strictly control access by outsiders, and thoroughly clean and disinfect the inside and outside of the farms.