10th lumpy skin disease case confirmed in South Korea

Seoul, Oct 20 (IANS) South Korea has confirmed an additional case of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle, bringing the total number of cases this year to 10, officials said.

The latest case was detected at a livestock farm located in Sangju, some 165 kilometers southeast of Seoul, marking the first outbreak of this year in North Gyeongsang Province, according to health authorities and the agriculture ministry.

To prevent further infections, the government has cordoned off the affected farm and implemented quarantine measures, according to the officials, reports Yonhap news agency.

The agriculture ministry called on provincial governments to stay vigilant against additional cases breaking out across the nation and complete vaccination of cattle by the end of this month.

LSD is a highly infectious disease that causes skin lesions, fever and loss of appetite, often leading to a fall in milk production and even death. It affects cattle and buffalo via mosquitoes and other blood-feeding insects.

To prevent further infections, the government has cordoned off the affected farms and implemented quarantine measures, according to the officials.

The country reported its first case of LSD in cattle this year in August. The case was confirmed at a livestock farm in Anseong, located some 65 kilometres south of Seoul, breeding 80 cows, the Agriculture Ministry said.

It was the first LSD case in South Korea since November last year. Meanwhile, South Korea’s agricultural ministry recently said it plans to commercialise a genetic diagnostic kit for LSD in 2025.

The genetic kit will help selectively cull infected cattle rather than destroying the entire herd.

The technology — developed jointly with Median Diagnostics — is capable of delivering results within 8 hours, significantly faster than previous methods, which took a week, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

–IANS

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