Chungcheongbuk-do announces establishment of special quarantine period for foot-and-mouth disease and strengthening of quarantine

North Chungcheong Province announced on the 28th that it will designate a special quarantine period from the 1st of next month to February 28th of next year, when the risk of foot-and-mouth disease outbreak increases, and strengthen quarantine activities to prevent the inflow of foot-and-mouth disease into the province.

This measure is being taken in response to growing concerns about the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease into the province, with a total of 13 sporadic cases of foot-and-mouth disease occurring in the Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gyeongbuk regions this year, and the outbreak of a new type (SAT type 1) of foot-and-mouth disease being reported in neighboring countries such as China and Mongolia.

First, vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease will be completed for cattle and goat farms in the second half of the year by the 30th, and for high-risk areas such as Cheongju, we will begin stockpiling vaccines with the inflow of new types in mind.

Considering that there have been quite a few cases of foot-and-mouth disease spreading through excrement transport vehicles in the past, an administrative order restricting the movement of cow and pig excrement to areas other than Chungcheongbuk-do during the special quarantine period will also be implemented.

However, composted or liquefied manure from farms or finished compost produced by fertilizer companies are excluded from the movement restrictions.

Additionally, if the location of the farm or sewage company is adjacent to North Chungcheong Province (same living area), movement is permitted after prior inspection.

In addition, in order to improve the efficiency of foot-and-mouth disease quarantine management, the policy will be improved to allow for partial livestock disposal in consideration of the risk even for farms where the first outbreak occurs in a city or county.

Byun Jeong-woon, head of the provincial animal quarantine department, said, “Chungbuk has maintained a clean area for foot-and-mouth disease since May 2023, but if biosecurity is neglected, it can recur at any time,” and asked, “Please actively cooperate with the vaccination and movement restriction orders.”