SEOUL - South Korea reported six more cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle in the central region of the country on Sunday.
According to a new release by Yonhap News Agency, This brings the total number of officially confirmed cases to 10, just two days after the first-ever LSD case was confirmed at a farm in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, located 98 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
Three of these new cases were reported in the region near the initial outbreak in Seosan. In response to the rising number of cases, health authorities have deployed quarantine officials to infected farms and initiated quarantine procedures. A government-led disease control meeting revealed that more LSD outbreaks are expected in the South Chungcheong region, which has already seen seven confirmed cases.
In an immediate response to the first LSD outbreak on Friday, authorities triggered the highest alert in the country's animal disease control system. They have announced plans to vaccinate a total of 53,000 cows in livestock farms located in South Chungcheong Province and Gyeonggi Province, where three of the infected farms are located. Discussions have also started with the finance ministry to procure vaccines for an additional 1.7 million cows.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has called for robust measures, including the culling of affected animals and issuance of standstill orders, to prevent the spread of this highly infectious disease to other parts of the nation. LSD primarily affects cattle and buffalo and is transmitted via mosquitoes and other blood-feeding insects. The disease can cause skin lesions, fever, and loss of appetite in animals, often leading to a reduction in milk production and in severe cases, death.