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Cattle grazing on a farm.
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen says South Africa has taken a major step in strengthening its response to foot and mouth disease with the launch of a locally produced vaccine developed by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).
The vaccine targets the SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3 strains, and will form part of the country’s broader disease control strategy alongside imported doses from Turkey, Argentina and Botswana.
The rollout supports government’s national vaccination plan, which aims to achieve 80% coverage of targeted herds within 12 months, while significantly reducing the spread of the disease across affected areas.
The initiative is expected to strengthen livestock protection, improve national biosecurity, and reduce long-term dependence on imported vaccines.
Steenhuisen says the development positions South Africa to better manage future outbreaks and protect the agricultural economy through local innovation and scientific capacity.
“For the first time in 20 years, South Africa has produced its own foot and mouth disease vaccine. It will cover the SAT 1, 2 and 3 strains here. This is a huge milestone in our fight against foot and mouth disease in South Africa and I’m very proud of the work done by the ARC and others in developing this vaccine. Obviously, this will join the frontline fight with the vaccines that we’re importing from Turkey, Argentina and from Botswana so that we can roll out the strategy that I’ve recently announced of vaccinating the national herd.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8r1CWzlTqY
-Report by Lebohang Motshweneng
