The Department of Agriculture will submit an application to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) next Monday to obtain foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine originating from Argentina. The department has already obtained a permit to import the Dollvet vaccine from Turkey.
By Alani Janeke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Once the necessary permits have been obtained from SAHPRA, Biogénesis Bagó will be able to supply one million vaccine doses to South Africa within two weeks. This was said by John Steenhuisen, Minister of Agriculture, during a media session in Parliament yesterday, 14 January.
An application for authorisation must be submitted to SAHPRA to use an unregistered medicine in terms of Section 21 of Act 101 of 1965. Dr Emily Mogajane, chair of the ministerial task team, said they will ask the Department of Health to ensure this application is dealt with urgently.
Biogénesis Bagó will also be able to provide an additional five million doses by March 2026.
What About BVI?
Since the FMD outbreak that occurred in the country in May 2024, the Department of Agriculture has already procured about two million vaccine doses from the Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI).
The procurement of BVI vaccines will continue. BVI confirmed to the department last year that one million doses per month would be delivered starting this week. However, due to the closure of its factory for cleaning purposes, BVI was unable to deliver this month’s doses on time.
A delegation from Botswana was in South Africa on Tuesday and confirmed that BVI has a large antigen of the SAT 2 strain. This antigen will be formulated to produce an SAT 2 vaccine that will be used in areas where SAT 2 is prevalent, Steenhuisen said.
In the meantime, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) will review the existing memorandum of cooperation with BVI to ensure the ARC and BVI complement each other and the country achieves maximum vaccine coverage.
ARC and OBP
Locally, a production line is being launched by the ARC and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP). According to the ARC, production of the local vaccine will begin soon, with the first 12 000 doses to be delivered by mid-February. Thereafter, the ARC will initially produce 20 000 doses per week, later increasing to a capacity of 96 000 doses per week.
Also read: FMD | Strategy will target feedlots and high-risk areas first
The Pirbright Institute
Steenhuisen said the department has taken note of the various statements and assumptions made about the delivery of South Africa’s FMD strains to The Pirbright Institute.
“A lot of claims were made that we did not send our newest strains to The Pirbright Institute. However, I can confirm that I have instructed the ARC to send the field strains to Pirbright as a matter of urgency. The ARC has confirmed it is currently preparing the strains to be sent to the institute,” he said.
This will help ensure all FMD vaccines used in South Africa have a full antigen match at Pirbright against the country’s current field strains. This will allow comparison of different vaccines and enable South Africa to select the most effective vaccines to contribute to controlling the outbreak.
Also read: LIVE | Steenhuisen briefing on status of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the country
Request for Disaster Declaration
Meanwhile, the department is working on an application to declare the FMD outbreak in the country a national disaster. This application will be submitted to Cabinet shortly.
A disaster declaration would allow the department to repurpose funds to address the outbreak. Mooketsa Ramasodi, director-general of the department, said such a declaration would also facilitate access to funds in other departments that are budgeted for crisis funding during a disaster.
The department aims to spend about R1.8 billion on vaccines over the two financial years of 2025/26 and 2026/27.
A disaster declaration would also strengthen the department’s hand in approaching authorities to improve control over the movement of animals. Steenhuisen said although regulations stipulate movement must be regulated in quarantined areas, the department must rely on the relevant authorities to enforce these measures.
“The department cannot do it itself. It can only put pressure on the relevant state agencies and departments that must ensure this is done. And our request coincides with requests from the Department of Transport to regulate roads and the Department of Home Affairs to crack down on illegal immigrants. We are queuing up for the capacity we need,” he said.
Download more information on the country’s long-term FMD strategy.
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