The current focus on mass vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease without strict control over animal movement has little value, and explains why outbreaks continue to increase despite more than 2 million animals having been vaccinated over the past five years, says Dr Kobus du Toit, a well-known wildlife veterinarian.
By Jasper Raats, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Available data show that 191 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks were recorded between 2020 and 2024, with a further 342 cases reported in 2025, Du Toit says. This stands in stark contrast to previous decades, when outbreaks were sporadic and limited. He warns that vaccination on its own will not bring the disease under control if infected animals continue to be moved illegally.
FMD Should Be Treated as a Biological Weapon
Du Toit proposes that FMD be declared a biological weapon under the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, 1993 (Act 87 of 1993). “The virus has already been classified as a biological agent in the Government Gazette since 2010, which means that the illegal transport of infected animals can be regarded as a serious criminal offence, with penalties ranging from two years to life imprisonment.”
If the state were to follow this approach, the South African National Defence Force should be involved in controlling animal movement, with strategic roadblocks where vehicles transporting animals without valid permits are confiscated. If animals test positive for FMD, criminal prosecution should follow, Du Toit says.
“Up until 2004, outbreaks were successfully contained precisely through mobile roadblocks, but this measure is no longer even mentioned in the current Veterinary Procedural Notice of 2014.”
Also read: FMD | ‘Worst challenge since rinderpest’ requires cooperation
Passive Immunity
In addition to movement control, the use of passive immunity is being advocated as supplementary protection. This involves using antibody-rich blood from animals that have survived an infection to protect other animals in the immediate vicinity – similar to the way farmers combat heartwater.
“Because the antibodies are specifically developed against the local virus strain, this approach can work faster than vaccines, limit losses and be applied at lower cost, provided it is strictly controlled by state and private veterinarians,” Du Toit says.
Questions Raised Over Vaccine Effectiveness
Du Toit also expresses reservations about the current vaccine strategy. “Without thorough field trials to determine which vaccine actually works against a specific outbreak, it is unclear how effective the programme really is.”
His proposal is that different vaccines be tested simultaneously, with untreated control animals included to measure true effectiveness. “The state cannot reasonably expect farmers to pay for vaccines whose efficacy is uncertain.”
Also read: FMD | Experts urge caution with farmers’ ‘tiger heart’ syndrome diagnoses
Humans and Pigs Identified as Key Risk Factors
Other risk factors that require greater attention include the role of humans as possible carriers of the virus, particularly in intensive pig production systems.
Du Toit says new trends in the virus’s behaviour suggest that it may survive for longer on the human palate than previously assumed, which means biosecurity cannot focus solely on vehicles and equipment.
He adds that warthogs are also proven carriers of the virus and can spread it to feedlots and dairies. He points out that a pig sheds 3 000 times more virus than a cow. “In areas where buffalo, cattle and warthogs occur together, cooperation between neighbours is essential to develop a management plan that addresses this risk.”
Du Toit says that without an integrated strategy that includes movement control, targeted immunity, evidence-based vaccine use and strict biosecurity, FMD will continue to threaten the country’s animal production and food security.
Also read: Laboratory analysis isolates O strain in smuggled FMD vaccines
