By Maile Matsimela
Following the detection of a suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Amajuba District on 10 February, laboratory tests confirmed the presence of FMD virus in tissue and blood samples from cattle, said Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa, MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, during a press briefing on Friday, 7 March.
As part of government’s intervention efforts, the authorities will conduct calf surveillance in vaccinated areas to assess their immunity to FMD.
“If calves from dip tanks and farms test negative, that will give us an upper hand in requesting our national department to lift FMD restrictions and allow economic activities to resume,” the MEC said.
She added that a team of more than 30 animal health technicians and veterinary professionals, led by Dr Temba Sikhakhane, had been deployed to Amajuba to carry out vaccinations and implement disease control measures in accordance with the Disease Management Area (DMA) protocols. Vaccination efforts have also been extended to areas such as Dannhauser and eMadlangeni to prevent the spread of the disease.
The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster; SAPS; the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; and the Department of Community Safety and Liaison are all helping to control animal movement in affected areas.
KaMadlopha-Mthethwa urged farmers and livestock owners not to move any animals showing suspicious clinical symptoms, such as excessive salivation, mouth blisters, limping or hoof lesions. Any newly introduced cattle, sheep or goats must be quarantined for at least 28 days before joining resident herds. And farmers should only introduce animals accompanied by a health declaration from known disease-free farms or areas.
She also appealed to farmers to prevent nose-to-nose contact between their livestock and animals outside the farm, maintain secure farm boundaries, restrict access for people and vehicles as much as possible, ensure that farm personnel avoid contact with animals outside the property, and fully comply with all animal movement control measures currently in place.
Challenges and fears
KaMadlopha-Mthethwa acknowledged that the province still faces infrastructure challenges, including inadequate dip tanks, but said efforts were under way to address the issues. “To this end, we have set aside about R40 million that will go towards rebuilding and renovating our dip tanks and making dipping chemicals available.”
Another challenge she highlighted was the presence of FMD-positive buffaloes in game reserves. These buffaloes are permanent carriers of the disease, meaning areas surrounding the reserves will always be at risk of FMD infection.
Foot-and-mouth disease poses a serious threat to the region’s meat industry, impacting red meat production and limiting export opportunities.
“We know that countries are a bit hesitant to import live cattle and their products from a country with FMD,” the MEC said.
“We wish to allay the fears of the public by stating that meat from restricted or infected farms is safe for human consumption, though it cannot be exported due to certification limitations. Controlled slaughter of cattle from infected farms is permitted at designated abattoirs with additional biosecurity measures in place.”
