The Department of Agriculture has identified feedlots, large commercial dairies, export-oriented abattoirs and high-risk communal grazing areas as the key focus areas in the first 12 months of South Africa’s new foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) control strategy.
By Alani Janeke and Marise Schoonraad, journalists at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
According to the department’s operational plan, all cattle arriving at feedlots will be vaccinated on “day zero”, followed by booster vaccinations 21 to 28 days later.
The animals will be held in quarantine intake pens for seven to 14 days, during which samples will be taken for disease surveillance.
Animals that remain in feedlots for longer periods will be revaccinated every six to 12 months, depending on the type of vaccine used.
In districts where the disease is actively spreading, the government plans to implement two mass vaccination campaigns per year, six months apart, with the aim of covering at least 80% of all susceptible animals in targeted areas.
An emergency measure also provides for circuit vaccination if a confirmed FMD case occurs within a predetermined epidemiological distance of a feedlot or its suppliers.
In such cases, animals in the affected feedlots and those of their immediate suppliers must be vaccinated within 48 to 72 hours.
The strategy aims to limit the risk of disease spread in areas with high animal movement, while at the same time protecting the export value chain from further disruption.
Also read:
