August 10, 2005

South Korea's first dairy cattle vaccine

South Korean firm LG Life Sciences has developed the country's first vaccine against dairy cattle disease bovine mastitis, the company announced on Aug 10.

After a seven-month trial, the country's national veterinary research and quarantine service has conditionally approved the product, LG Life Sciences said.

Bovine mastitis, or bacterial inflammation of the udder, causes much economic losses in the dairy industry. In the US, the disease costs the dairy industry more than US$2 billion in annual losses, while the South Korean dairy industry loses about 180 billion won (US$177 million) from the disease every year.

LG Life Sciences hopes to commence vaccine production by June next year.