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Veterinary workers about to vaccinate cattle
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen says he will approach the national government to have the foot and mouth disease declared a state of disaster. He made these comments when unveiling the Department’s strategy to contain this disease during a media briefing in Parliament.
He described the strategy, which includes vaccination, as realistically achievable and technically sound.
Steenhuisen unveiled a 10-year strategy to contain the devastating financial and emotional burden of the disease. The strategy includes vaccination to protect the national herd.
The Minister says there are vaccines currently circulating in the country while one million doses are ready to be supplied by international partners within two weeks, once necessary permits are issued.
“Vaccination is not a silver bullet to eradicate or manage this disease, it is merely one of the tools that can and must be used to combat foot and mouth disease. It is however no replacement for good on farm bio security, a greater adherence to movement controls as well as ensuring at a farm level that bio security is up to the correct standard,” says Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen says the current outbreak started in 2021 when animals moved from Phalaborwa to KwaZulu- Natal. He says the Northern Cape is currently the only province that has never reported the outbreak of the disease.
“We will obviously be prioritising high risk zones. KwaZulu- Natal is the epicenter but many other provinces are also suffering, the goal there is at least of 80 percent coverage in targeted cattle population especially in commercial areas and up to 100 percent of feed lock and dairy cows. The objective is within 12 months to reduce outbreak incidents by 70 percent in the high-risk provinces,” Steenhuisen explains.
The Minister says almost two million animals have been vaccinated since its outbreak.
“The strategy is to make sure that we interrupt the virus transmission based on the data which we have we reduce the incidents of the disease to very low levels in the 2-3 years,” says Dr Emely Mogajane, Chief Director: Biosecurity Coordination
The Minister says the strategy is a long-term commitment to the health of the economy and the security of food supply.
Video: Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen media briefing on Foot and Mouth Disease in SA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42PkLAG7f0
