North Gyeongsang Province mobilizes against foot-and-mouth outbreak at Yecheon cattle farm

North Gyeongsang Province activated its foot-and-mouth disease control headquarters and launched efforts to prevent further spread after an outbreak was confirmed at a Hanwoo cattle farm in Yecheon-gun, provincial authorities said Friday.

The latest outbreak marks a recurrence after the full lifting of a quarantine zone on Aug. 26 that had been established following a previous foot-and-mouth case in Yecheon-gun on July 1. The national foot-and-mouth disease alert had also been downgraded to the "Attention" level after that zone was lifted.

The affected farm was identified during a check to verify whether the virus was circulating at farms where non-structural protein antibodies had been detected.

Provincial authorities have imposed movement restrictions and access controls on the farm and plan to swiftly cull the infected animals.

Officials will conduct clinical inspections at the farm and administer emergency vaccines to co-housed animals not subject to culling.

All 181 cloven-hoofed livestock farms within the 3-kilometer quarantine zone will be placed under clinical surveillance and movement restrictions. Livestock vehicles and farms in the affected county and neighboring counties have been designated for intensive disinfection and cleaning.

"Since foot-and-mouth disease has re-emerged after the quarantine zone was lifted, we will concentrate all our efforts on swift containment measures at the affected farm and nearby farms to cut off any further spread as early as possible," said Park Chan-guk, director of the province's Agriculture, Livestock and Retail Bureau.