To deal with an outbreak in Miyazaki Prefecture, the Japanese government decided Wednesday (May 19) on the country's first-ever use of a vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

 

Vaccination begins this week, targeting all cattle and pigs within a 10 kilometres radius of the affected area. Roughly 50,000 cattle and around 150,000 pigs will get the vaccines, so the process will likely take four to five days.

 

Following the decision, around 205,000 domesticated cows and pigs will be vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of the outbreak before being slaughtered, bringing the total number of animals to be disposed of to 323,000 so far, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.

 

Agriculture Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said the government will start vaccination as early as Thursday (May 20), adding that he aims to complete all measures as soon as possible.

 

Akamatsu said the government will declare an end to the outbreak if no infections are confirmed in the next three weeks.

 

The government will likely spend a total of JPY30-40 billion (US$332.43- 443.24 million) to deal with the outbreak, according to Akamatsu. The government plans to compensate farmers by paying JPY600,000 (US$6,491) per head of cattle and JPY35,000 (US$387.84) per pig. Farmers whose cattle and pigs have already been destroyed will also receive payment at the same rates.

 

Under the law, the government cannot destroy livestock without farmers' consent.

 

Meanwhile, farmers within a 10-20km radius of the affected area will be urged to ship their livestock as soon as possible in order to create a buffer zone. As an incentive, the government will compensate them for losses stemming from having to ship livestock prematurely.

 

Aside from this, the government is considering offering no-interest loans to farmers whose livestock has been destroyed or is marked for destruction. This programme may be extended to farmers in the 10-20km zone as well.

 

In addition to bolster containment efforts, the government has also decided to send in 50 more veterinarians, bringing the total to 180, and to double the deployed Self-Defense Forces personnel to 340 to better handle the burial of destroyed animals.

 

While stressing the need to take swift action to deal with the spread of the disease through vaccination and slaughtering animals suspected of being infected, Lubroth, who is in charge of farm animal disease issues at the FAO, suggested that it appears sufficient measures have not been taken to keep up with the development of the disease.

 

He also said the FAO was ready to dispatch experts to Japan to offer advice upon the request of the Japanese government.