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Kinmen cattle to be vaccinated against lumpy skin disease: COA

2020-07-15
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Photo courtesy of the COA
Photo courtesy of the COA

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) The Council of Agriculture (COA) is taking all necessary steps, including the use of vaccines, to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease to Taiwan proper, after it was found in Kinmen livestock recently, Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said Tuesday.

In a radio interview, Chen said the COA will supply 10,000 vaccines to the offshore county of Kinmen, and the inoculation of all cattle raised there will be completed within a week.

If the lumpy skin disease is allowed to reach the main island of Taiwan, it would be devastating to the cattle farming industry, particularly the dairy sector, as it reduces milk production in cows, Chen said.

The decision to vaccinate cattle in Kinmen followed a report last week that the viral disease had been found on farms there, which resulted in the culling of dozens of cows.

At the time, the COA said it suspected that the disease had spread from China, which is only a few kilometers away from Kinmen County. The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) later said the virus found in the infected cattle in Kinmen had a genome sequence 99 percent similar to a strain reported in China last year.

According to the BAPHIQ, lumpy skin disease is spread by blood-sucking insects such as mosquitos and flies, causing illness in 10-20 percent of infected animals, and it has a fatality rate of 1-5 percent.

It is characterized by fever and nodules on the skin, while some infected cattle also develop swollen legs and lameness.

In Tuesday's interview, Chen said that apart from the vaccination program, efforts will be made to prevent the transfer of lumpy skin disease vectors to Taiwan.

All forms of transport between Kinmen and Taiwan proper, including boats and planes, will be disinfected, he said.

Kinmen currently has 6,282 cattle on 594 farms, while Taiwan proper has 150,000 head of cattle, according to the agriculture minister.

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