In North West, by Friday afternoon, 27 February, none of the Argentine foot-and-mouth disease vaccine that arrived in the country last weekend had yet been administered.

By Carien Kruger, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

Naudé Pienaar, general manager at Agri North West (Agri NW), described the delay between the arrival of the Argentine foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine in the country and the point at which the first cattle would hopefully be vaccinated in the province as “absolutely tragic”.

He said it took authorities five days to transport the vaccine from Gauteng to North West.

North West was set to receive 100 000 doses from the first Argentine consignment, but these were only expected in the province five days after arriving in Gauteng (on Thursday, 26 February, or Friday morning, 27 February).

“We’ve had many lengthy and time-consuming discussions with state and private veterinarians, attended together with the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) and TLU SA,” Pienaar said.

“The province plans to begin vaccinations only three or four days after the vaccine arrives – in other words, on Monday, 2 March, or Tuesday, 3 March.”

Pienaar said the province had indicated that cold-storage facilities for the vaccine had been arranged in Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vryburg.

Information on farmers’ need for vaccination is being gathered in various ways. “Agri NW proactively conducted a survey among its members to determine who wanted to vaccinate, where facilities were suitable, and who was willing to comply with traceability requirements. We submitted this information to the provincial department.

“The province has decided to focus its vaccinations first on communal cattle and then on cattle around farms with buffalo, in order to create a buffer zone.

“The department is selecting so-called hotspot areas where many infections have already occurred. Farmers still have many questions about when feedlots, dairies and pig farms will be vaccinated. Agri NW would like to see more vaccine made available in the country more quickly.

“Although Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has said it is impossible, we still believe it should be possible for farmers who want to vaccinate preventively to do so. They should be able to access the vaccine through veterinarians or imports.

“Yes, foot-and-mouth disease is a state-controlled disease, but then let the state control it where the disease is already present, and allow farmers who want to vaccinate proactively the opportunity to do so.”

Also read:
FMD | Vaccination update from the Eastern Cape
FMD | Vaccination update from Gauteng

Concerns Over Capacity, Costs

Pienaar said Agri NW was concerned about whether the officials involved would be able to manage the entire vaccination process, especially given how long it had taken for the vaccine to reach North West.

On Tuesday, 24 February, 153 positive outbreaks had been reported in the province, but Pienaar said he believed the real number could be double that, as many farmers no longer trusted the state and did not report the disease. The confirmed number of cases in the province had increased by 30 to 40 within a single week, highlighting the urgency of vaccinations.

Pienaar also expressed concern that communal areas were being prioritised, because the already limited number of state veterinarians and technicians would have to work in areas without suitable facilities, where cattle were not tagged or branded, where ownership was unclear, and where time would be spent rounding up animals.

“This creates a risk that time and vaccine will be wasted. Our view is that as many animals as possible should be vaccinated as quickly as possible, and this can be done fastest where the necessary facilities exist and animals are properly identified.”

Agri NW had not yet received any information on how the next consignment of 1,5 million doses from Türkiye would be allocated.

“There is also still a great deal of confusion about the cost of the vaccine for farmers. At one stage it was said it would cost between R45 and R80, and the Minister said no one would receive it for free. In North West, state veterinarians believe no one should have to pay for the 100 000 doses that will now be administered.”

According to Pienaar, police in North West were also saying they were unsure of their responsibilities, such as what requirements applied to the transport of animals, what officers should be looking out for, and what they should do if there was suspicious animal movement.

“One would have expected these issues to have been addressed at national level by now.”

Apparently there is now one FMD-registered abattoir in North West, in the Brits area, according to Pienaar.

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