June 24, 2026

South Gyeongsang, South Korea, to launch prevention-focused disease control system over next three years

South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, will launch a prevention-focused, year-round disease control system over the next three years to respond proactively to the constant risk of livestock infectious diseases.

The province said last week that it has established its "2026-2028 Plan for the Prevention and Management of Livestock Infectious Diseases" and will pursue a prevention-centered control system. The plan is a three-year statutory plan under Article 3 of the Act on the Prevention of Livestock Epidemics, designed to respond to a changed disease control environment, including the scaling up of the livestock industry, climate change, and increased risk of new and foreign livestock diseases entering South Korea.

By 2028, the province plans to reduce new cases of brucellosis and tuberculosis by 20%, maintain the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine antibody-positive rate above 92%, and cut the number of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) farm outbreaks by 50%.

The core of the plan is a shift from post-outbreak response to a prevention-centered system that reduces risk factors before outbreaks occur. The province will build a One Health-based disease control system in which people, animals, and the environment are all healthy, and will focus on four strategies and 12 tasks. The four strategies are strengthening preventive measures and blocking entry, establishing farm-responsible disease control, pursuing proactive year-round disease control, and building a sustainable foundation for control and support.

Key tasks include building a vaccine and medicine supply system reflecting risk by livestock type and season, strengthening surveillance of zoonotic diseases and new diseases such as Q fever, and managing the foot-and-mouth disease antibody-positive rate. To prevent the recurrence of African swine fever (ASF), the province will strengthen inspections of disease control facilities at pig farms and management of wild boars. For highly pathogenic AI, it will advance a South Gyeongsang-style containment model centered on high-risk areas such as migratory bird habitats.

"The core is a preventive system that reduces risk factors before outbreaks occur," said Jang Young-wook, director of the province's agricultural administration bureau. "We will build a sustainable disease control system based on public-private cooperation to realise a South Gyeongsang that is safe from livestock infectious diseases."

- Seoul Economic Daily