South Korea – South Korea's agricultural authorities have projected that the outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) among cattle will stabilize by the end of November. This follows the completion of a nationwide vaccination campaign against the disease.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the decrease in the activity of disease-carrying blood-feeding insects due to colder winter temperatures and the development of antibodies in vaccinated cattle are expected to contribute to the stabilization.
However, the official acknowledged challenges in completely controlling the disease, especially due to higher temperatures in some southern regions, and did not rule out the possibility of additional cases. Since the first-ever LSD case reported on October 20, South Korea has identified 152 cases, with no new cases confirmed since Tuesday. The country has completed the vaccination of all 4.05 million cattle, but authorities expect additional infections in the short term, considering the typical three-week period for animals to develop antibodies.
LSD, which poses no risk to humans, is highly infectious in cattle and buffalo, causing skin lesions, fever, appetite loss, and can lead to decreased milk production and death. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes and other blood-feeding insects.