470,000 Cattle and Goats to Receive Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine from September

Gyeonggi Province will conduct a mass vaccination campaign for foot-and-mouth disease vaccine targeting cattle and goats throughout the province starting September 1st to prevent the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and enhance livestock immunity.

The vaccination targets approximately 470,000 animals, including 422,807 cattle from 6,988 farms and 46,778 goats from 1,280 farms. Vaccinations will be conducted from September 1st to 14th, with extended services until September 30th for small-scale farms requiring veterinary support for vaccination.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious livestock infectious disease that occurs in cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, and goats. Gyeonggi Province conducts regular vaccine inoculations for cattle and goats every March and September to prevent foot-and-mouth disease.

In this mass vaccination campaign, an O+A type mixed vaccine that can simultaneously prevent O-type and A-type foot-and-mouth disease will be administered. For farms raising fewer than 50 cattle or fewer than 300 goats, veterinarians and professional goat capturing personnel will provide vaccination support, while larger farms will conduct vaccinations independently.

After completing the vaccination, Gyeonggi Province plans to conduct antibody tests to confirm vaccination compliance and immunity levels for each farm. Additionally, the province will strengthen post-vaccination management by using vaccination records in the livestock traceability system to identify animals that missed vaccinations or received exemptions, and conduct additional vaccinations as needed.

In February of this year, foot-and-mouth disease occurred in Goyang City, and Gyeonggi Province implemented quarantine measures including emergency vaccinations and intensive disinfection in the outbreak area and surrounding regions.

Lee Eun-kyung, head of the Animal Disease Control and Hygiene Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The most important prevention method for foot-and-mouth disease is to ensure vaccinations are administered on time without fail, and we ask for vaccinations to be completed within the designated period." He added, "Gyeonggi Province will make all-out efforts to raise the immunity level of cloven-hoofed livestock in the province and prevent recurrence of foot-and-mouth disease through this second-half mass vaccination campaign."