Ten new cases of “lumpy skin disease” in three days: Rapid spread of a viral infection affecting cattle

A livestock control official looks at cows while preparing for culling at a cow farm with a confirmed case of rumphyskin disease in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the third day after the first confirmed case of the bovine viral disease in South Korea. Pyeongtaek | By Cho Tae-hyung

More cases of lumpy skin disease, a viral infection affecting cattle, were confirmed today at five farms in Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongnam-do. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in South Korea to ten in the three days since the first outbreak on October 20. The viral disease is spreading faster than expected, making quarantine authorities nervous.

The central accident response headquarters overseeing lumpy skin disease announced on Sunday that five additional cases have been confirmed in three Hanwoo cattle farms in Buseok-myeon, Seosan-si, Chungcheongnam-do; one dairy farm in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do; and one Hanwoo cattle farm in Iwon-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do.

Among them, the three farms in Buseok-myeon, Seosan-si, and the dairy farm in Pyeongtaek-si were adjacent to farmswhere cases were confirmed earlier. Lumpy skin disease, a contagious disease that spreads mainly through mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects, is characterized by high fever and skin nodules, and has a mortality rate of up to 10%.Symptoms include fever, tears, runny nose, and drooling, followed by chickenpox-like hives on the skin, hence the name lumpy skin disease.

The disease was first discovered in Zambia in 1929 and was considered an endemic disease in Africa for decades, but since the 2010s, it has spread to Europe and Asian countries. The disease, which is categorized as a Class-1 infectious disease among livestock in South Korea, was first detected in the country on October 20, and since the first outbreak was confirmed, the number of infected farms has been increasing rapidly, mainly in Chungcheongnam-do.

So far, outbreaks have been confirmed in Seosan, Dangjin and Taean in Chungcheongnam,-do and Cheongbuk-eup and Poseung-eup in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do. The government has been stockpiling vaccines, conducting farm inspections and promoting early reporting in order to prevent the disease from entering the country following recent outbreaks in neighboring countries, such as Thailand, Mongolia, China and Indonesia, but it has not been able to prevent the virus from entering the country. Both Hanwoo beef cattle and Holstein dairy cattle, raised by most domestic farmers, are known to be susceptible to lumpy skin disease. Thus, depending on the size and spread of the disease, it could have a significant impact on livestock production.

Quarantine authorities have dispatched an initial epidemic prevention team and an epidemiological investigation team to the farms where the outbreak has been confirmed, and are controlling the entry of outsiders, livestock, and vehicles into the farms. They also plan to conduct epidemiological investigations and cull cattle in accordance with standard operation procedures (SOPs).

The central headquarters said, “To prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease, cattle farmers are urged to carry out deworming work, such as spraying insecticides, to thoroughly disinfect the farm and surrounding equipment, and to report suspected cattle to livestock quarantine officers without delay.” Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Chung Hwang-keun, head of the central headquarters, held a meeting on Sunday and said, “We are concerned about additional outbreaks occurring sporadically in the west coast area,” and described the situation as “severe.”