Foot-and-mouth: Eastern Cape dairy farms are vaccinating preventively

According to regulations, only cattle within affected herds may be vaccinated against the disease.

A joint statement from Agri Eastern Cape and the Eastern Cape Red Meat Producers Organisation said the first animals were vaccinated yesterday, and about 7 000 will be vaccinated today and tomorrow.

The clinical presence of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed on 16 farms in the Kouga and Koukamma municipal areas, with four farms awaiting test results. The 16 farms are mainly concentrated in two areas.

Results are also awaited from a second round of tests on two farms in the Berlin area near East London, where there were positive results for foot-and-mouth disease, to determine how movement in that area will be controlled.

Preventive vaccination

According to Fanie Ferreira, CEO of the Milk Producers Organisation (MPO), the industry decided to take steps to vaccinate preventively after a meeting two weeks ago in the Eastern Cape. Ferreira said it was clear that biosecurity measures were not preventing the spread of the disease in the immediate area.

“In the first few weeks, hundreds of thousands of rand were spent by various stakeholders and parties to establish sanitation stations and stops, but the disease continued to spread,” said Ferreira.

Although it has not been confirmed, it is assumed that the disease is spread by the wind due to the climate and humidity of the area near the sea.

Ferreira said it was clear that further measures were needed to stop the disease spreading further in one of the densest dairy herds in the world.

After prolonged negotiations with the Department of Agriculture, farmers finally received permission last week from Dr Mpho Maja, director of animal health, to vaccinate preventively in naive herds. This will take place conditionally under individual applications submitted to the department.

Only farmers from farms within 10 km of an active outbreak will be eligible, and each will be evaluated, with permission granted on merit. A revised indemnity form will need to be submitted with applications.

Ferreira said MPO officials and veterinarians worked over the weekend to create maps of the area, marking affected farms and the 10 km radius around them. Applications and indemnity letters have been submitted to the department since Monday.

Farmers have been told they must fully understand the implications of vaccination before deciding to follow this route. The disadvantage of vaccination is that it is impossible to tell whether antibodies detected in a subsequent blood test are present due to the vaccine or the disease. This makes it difficult to prove the country’s foot-and-mouth disease-free status. Vaccinated also cattle cannot be sold later. They must remain on that farm and from there they may only be slaughtered. Where healthy animals are vaccinated preventively, the same rules apply as when vaccination occurs after an outbreak – from the time the last animal became sick, it takes 12 months before a farm can be declared “clean”.

Meanwhile, movement control for cloven-hoofed animals in, within, or out of the Kouga and Koukamma municipalities is still being enforced. Law enforcement officers are assisting Agri EC in monitoring animal movements.

How is milk delivery affected?

Affected dairy farmers can still deliver milk, with milk from cattle that test positive for foot-and-mouth disease still suitable for human consumption, Ferreira said.

In dairy herds, unlike with beef cattle, at least half of the herd develops mastitis three or four days after a positive test. “It is a serious mastitis that is quite stubborn to control,” said Ferreira.

Milk from cows with mastitis cannot be used, as the cows are treated with antibiotics. The cows must be milked separately and the milk discarded. In the affected area, this averages about 10,000 litres a day for a herd.

“The disease has a significant economic impact on the farmer,” said Ferreira.

Milk from cows that do not have mastitis can be delivered. However, somatic cell counts in the milk rise significantly. Processors are investigating double-pasteurisation to see if the milk remains usable.

Meat from cattle with foot-and-mouth disease is a problem since these animals can be slaughtered only at approved abattoirs, and there are none in the Eastern Cape. A solution is being worked on.

Ferreira says meetings are being held or arranged in milk-producing areas across the country where experts can help dairy farmers with any queries.