First Lumpy Skin Disease Case of the Year Confirmed in Sunchang... North Jeolla Implements Isolation Quarantine Instead of Culling

Emergency Vaccination for 27,000 Korean Cattle

This year, the first nationwide case of lumpy skin disease was confirmed at a Korean beef cattle farm in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province. North Jeolla Province announced that, in accordance with the revised quarantine guidelines, instead of culling, the infected animals would be isolated and treated. The province also began emergency vaccination and strengthened quarantine measures around the affected farm to prevent further spread.

Cattle Lumpy Skin Disease Control and Prevention. Yonhap News

On July 11, North Jeolla Province stated that suspected symptoms of lumpy skin disease, such as skin nodules, were discovered at a Korean beef cattle farm in Sunchang County. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency conducted a detailed examination and confirmed the case as positive. This marks the first confirmed case of lumpy skin disease in South Korea this year.

This quarantine response is the first case in which the revised response system, enacted in March 2026 under the "Act on the Prevention of Livestock Infectious Diseases," has been applied. As the management grade for lumpy skin disease was adjusted from Class 1 to Class 2, the province is now responding with a focused and precise quarantine centered on the affected farm, rather than issuing a nationwide movement ban or raising the crisis alert level to "severe," as was done previously.

Immediately upon confirmation, the province imposed movement restrictions on the affected farm and dispatched an initial quarantine team from the Livestock Hygiene and Quarantine Support Headquarters to control the entry and exit of outsiders, vehicles, and livestock. Emergency disinfection was also carried out on and around the premises.

The three Korean cattle that tested positive will not be culled but will be isolated in barns equipped with insect screens. All cattle on the farm will receive additional vaccinations, and vector control measures targeting mosquitoes and flies will be implemented simultaneously.

In addition, to prevent further spread, an emergency mass vaccination campaign for 27,000 cattle (from 599 farms) in the Sunchang area will be conducted over a two-week period from July 11 to July 24.

The isolated infected animals will undergo weekly quarantine inspections for at least 28 days. Afterward, both clinical and detailed examinations will be repeated, and movement restrictions will remain in place until it is confirmed that the virus has been completely eradicated.

Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease that affects only cattle and cannot be transmitted to humans. Since the first outbreak in South Korea in 2023, nationwide vaccination campaigns have been implemented to prevent its spread.

Min Sun-sik, Director of the Agricultural Life and Livestock Industry Bureau of North Jeolla Province, stated, "We will swiftly complete emergency vaccinations in the affected area and proactively carry out vaccinations in neighboring cities and counties to prevent further spread. We will also thoroughly implement vector control and intensive disinfection inside and outside barns. If any suspicious symptoms, such as skin nodules, are observed, please report them immediately to the quarantine authorities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.