, after outbreaks were confirmed in four provinces, said a senior government official.){kind=link}
South Africa has launched a vaccination campaign to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), after outbreaks were confirmed in four provinces, said a senior government official.
South African Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen on Monday visited one of the country’s largest beef producer, Karan Beef, to oversee the vaccination of livestock in the company’s feedlot in Heidelberg, near Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, where a FMD outbreak was confirmed earlier in June.
“The first batch of 900,000 vaccines arrived in South Africa last week, and we commenced with the vaccination over the weekend.
“Obviously, there’ll be a second batch on order, and we will continue to purchase vaccines in order to get this particular matter under control, not only here in Gauteng, but also in KwaZulu-Natal, where we have a major outbreak of FMD,” he said.
When asked to quantify losses associated with the FMD, Steenhuisen said losses were running in the hundreds of millions.
He confirmed that four provinces have been affected by the outbreaks, with KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng being the hardest hit, particularly northern KwaZulu-Natal.
He also warned that individuals who fail to comply with the regulations, which cover the movement of livestock from disease management areas and the operation of auctions, will face criminal charges.
Xinhua/Kamila