Department of Agriculture procures 900,000 FMD vaccine doses as outbreak intensifies

The Department of Agriculture has procured 900,000 doses of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine to combat the ongoing and increasingly widespread outbreaks affecting several provinces.

This was announced by Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen during a media briefing on Monday, where he outlined the critical interventions being implemented to contain the disease.

The vaccines, sourced from the Botswana Vaccine Institute at a cost of R72 million, are being distributed across the worst-hit provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, and the Free State.

Steenhuisen confirmed that the first 500,000 doses arrived in June and have already been used, while the remaining 400,000 doses began distribution last week.

At present, 274 outbreaks remain unresolved across the country, with KwaZulu-Natal recording the highest number at 180. Gauteng has 54, North West has 26, Mpumalanga has nine, and the Free State has five.

“At the beginning of 2025, active FMD outbreaks were confined to KwaZulu-Natal. Unfortunately, by the end of May 2025, new outbreaks had emerged in other provinces,” said Steenhuisen.

He confirmed that the virus spread from KwaZulu-Natal into Mpumalanga through a livestock auction in February, and investigations have found both farm-to-farm transmission and poor enforcement of isolation protocols to be key factors in the continued spread.

Despite these challenges, there is some positive news. Steenhuisen reported that the Eastern Cape has not recorded a new outbreak since September 2024, and the Disease Management Area was lifted on 4 July 2025 after extensive surveillance.

Similarly, all outbreaks in Limpopo were resolved by August 2023, with its DMA also lifted in July this year. Northern Cape and Western Cape remain free of the disease.

Steenhuisen lauded the contributions of veterinary officials, industry stakeholders, and farmers in containing earlier outbreaks, calling the Eastern Cape response a "success story made possible through dedication and partnership."

In July, the Department convened a high-level Bosberaad under the theme “Building a Resilient System to Fight Foot and Mouth Disease.”

Over 400 stakeholders took part in discussions aimed at strengthening South Africa’s FMD response.

“Current approaches are fragmented and lack sufficient enforcement and coordination, contributing to the persistence of outbreaks,” Steenhuisen warned. 

The Bosberaad rejected a proposal to declare FMD endemic due to the potential trade and economic fallout, he said.

Instead, it endorsed a phased strategy aligned with the Progressive Control Pathway (PCP), combining enhanced existing controls with long-term reforms. This includes a new domestic vaccine production facility, capable of producing up to 200,000 doses annually, scheduled to be commissioned in March 2026.

Steenhuisen also announced the formation of a new Industry–Government Task Team on Animal Disease Prevention, Management, and Control. The team includes senior government veterinarians and leading experts from the red meat and dairy industries. It will report directly to national value chain roundtables.

In a stern message to livestock owners, Steenhuisen called for full compliance with biosecurity laws and urged farmers to avoid moving infected cattle.

“Reports of farmers moving cattle showing clinical signs of the disease, or treating them privately without reporting, are deeply concerning and irresponsible,” he said.

“These actions not only contravene legal directives but risk entrenching FMD as endemic in South Africa.”

“Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility,” Steenhuisen said.

“Only through collective discipline and cooperation can we turn the tide and secure the future of South Africa’s livestock industry.”

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za

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