Local authorities are mobilizing emergency quarantine measures and budget support after brucellosis, a legally designated livestock infectious disease that can also infect humans, was confirmed at a dairy farm in Suncheon.
Suncheon completed the emergency culling of 17 animals — 13 confirmed positive cattle and four calves. In consultation with the city council, it also allocated an emergency subsidy of about 120 million won ($91,600) to encourage the removal of the remaining dairy cattle at the affected farm, aiming to prevent further infection on-site and stop the disease from spreading to neighboring farms.
The city also launched a comprehensive serological screening of all cattle farms within 500 meters of the outbreak site and is carrying out emergency disinfection through a joint pest-control team alongside self-disinfection by individual farms, as part of a tightly coordinated containment effort.
Mayor Son Hun-mo visited the farm on Wednesday and said the city would "concentrate all administrative resources to thoroughly block any further spread of the livestock disease and minimize damage to livestock farmers."
The outbreak was confirmed after a raw-milk brucellosis test conducted at a milk collection facility on July 8 returned a positive result, followed by a serological examination of all cattle at the farm the next day that found 13 animals positive.
parkds@heraldcorp.com
