-
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen media briefing on Foot and Mouth Disease in SA
Agriculture minister, John Steenhuisen has announced that the department will be embarking on a mass vaccination programme across all provinces to combat the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD).
Steenhuisen addressed the media on the department’s strategy to combat the outbreak at the GCIS Imbizo Centre, in Cape Town.
The highly contagious viral disease has spread to eight provinces, while the Northern Cape is the only province that has not reported a case of FMD.
WATCH | Minister John Steenhuisen has assured farmers that a plan is in place to tackle the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, outlining how the national herd will be vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/d6fHQJ8akj
— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 14, 2026
Steenhuisen says the department has vaccinated almost two-million animals since the recurrence of the disease in April last year.
“Interventions in those provinces will include the immediate mass vaccination across affected areas. That will then be repeated within 3 months. One-hundred-percent vaccination of feedlots and dairy cows, 90-percent of commercial and 80% of communal animals. Areas where recurring infections occur like parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo where buffalo farming has increased, there will be bi-annual campaigns to be launched at these border hotspots and vaccination will continue in the protection zone.”
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen media briefing on Foot and Mouth Disease in SA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42PkLAG7f0
