The Department of Agriculture has confirmed a foot-and-mouth outbreak on a commercial farm located in the Moqhaka Local Municipality, near Kroonstad in the Free State.
By Lebogang Mashala
The farm, which is part of the Kroonstad State Veterinary area, has been placed under quarantine and FMD control measures are being implemented. These measures include enhanced surveillance and vaccination efforts.
The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has raised concerns among local farmers and authorities.
Currently, the department is conducting traceback activities to identify the source of the infection. Additionally, farms within a 10-kilometer radius are under surveillance to assess the potential spread of the disease.
The recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has raised concerns among local farmers and authorities.
The recent FMD outbreak has raised concerns among local farmers and authorities.
Status of FMD Outbreaks in All Provinces
Dipepeneneng Serage, Deputy Director-General for Agricultural Production, Biosecurity and Natural Resources Management at the department, reported that as of July 2025, a total of 270 FMD outbreaks have been recorded across five provinces in South Africa.
“Out of these, 249 outbreaks remain unresolved, while 21 have been successfully resolved. The Eastern Cape has experienced 40 outbreaks, with 38 still active and 2 resolved. Notably, there have been no new cases reported in the Eastern Cape since September 2024,” said Serage.
He also mentioned that KwaZulu-Natal has been the most affected province, with 191 outbreaks reported – 172 of which are still active, and 19 have been resolved. Since May 2025, Gauteng has reported 32 outbreaks, North West has four active outbreaks, and Mpumalanga has recorded three outbreaks.
Correction of KwaZulu-Natal Disease Management Area Notice
The department also corrected an error in a recently published Government Gazette notice (Gazette Notice 6396 of 4 July 2025), which repeals a previous notice (Gazette Notice 5997 of 17 March 2025).
“The names of certain areas that are still part of the Disease Management Area (DMA) were inadvertently omitted. We sincerely apologise for any confusion caused and request that all stakeholders take note of the following areas declared to be part of the KwaZulu-Natal DMA:
- The whole of the Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Mtubatuba Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Nongoma Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Ulundi Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Umhlabuyalingana Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Jozini Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Pongola Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Abaqulusi Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Umfolozi Local Municipality;
- The whole of the uMhlathuze Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Mthonjaneni Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Nqutu Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Nkandla Local Municipality;
- The whole of the uMlalazi Local Municipality;
- The whole of the Mandeni Local Municipality;
- The portion of the Emadlangeni Local Municipality, south of R34 from R33;
- The portion of the Newcastle Local Municipality, south of R34 up to and east of N11;
- The portion of the Dannhauser Local Municipality east of N11 and north of R68;
- The portion of the Endumeni Local Municipality, north of R68 and east of R33;
- The portion of the Msinga Local Municipality, east of R33;
- The portion of the UMvoti Local Municipality, east of the R33 up to R74 and north of R74;
- The portion of the Maphumulo Local Municipality, north-east of the R74;
- The portion of the Ndwedwe Local Municipality, east of the R74;
- The portion of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, north-east of R74 up to the N2 and west to the N2 up to Mandeni Local Municipality.”
