Ganghwa County Conducts Mass Inoculation of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Prevention Vaccines
[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Shin Eun-seop] Ganghwa County announced on the 13th that it will conduct "2021 First Half Foot-and-Mouth Disease Prevention Vaccine Mass Inoculation" for five weeks through the 7th of next month.
The county plans to provide vaccines across the board to all farms raising cloven-hoofed livestock, including full-time farms, by allocating approximately 600 million won in budget—an increase of approximately 200 million won compared to last year—to enhance foot-and-mouth disease antibody formation rates, following the confirmation of numerous farms last year that showed detection of FMD NSP antibodies and failed to meet antibody formation rates.
The targets for mass inoculation are 23,002 cattle and 1,682 goats, with exceptions for livestock less than 2 months old, livestock not yet 4 weeks past vaccination, and livestock scheduled for shipment within 2 weeks.
Small-scale farms raising fewer than 50 cattle and goat farms will receive inoculation support through public veterinarians, while farms raising 50 or more cattle can receive vaccines from agricultural cooperatives and conduct self-inoculation.
The county plans to conduct antibody formation rate monitoring within one month after mass inoculation, and will impose fines of up to 10 million won on farms failing to meet the standards of 80% for cattle and 60% for goats, while implementing re-inoculation to ensure thorough management of antibody formation rates.
A county official stated, "Given the cases of foot-and-mouth disease occurring in neighboring countries such as China last month on the 22nd, foot-and-mouth disease is a disease that can occur at any time, and the importance of mass inoculation for prevention cannot be overstated," adding "Since administrative actions related to foot-and-mouth disease antibody formation rates have become more rigorous, we urge thorough attention to complete vaccine inoculation, disinfection within farms, and biosecurity management measures."