Registration is due to open later this week for farmers to become authorised buyers of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines. About 40 million doses are expected to enter South Africa over the next two months, according to Dr Theo de Jager, executive director of the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai).
By Alani Janeke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
This follows a settlement agreement reached last Thursday between Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp, Saai, Sakeliga and Free State Agriculture that will end the state’s monopoly on importing and administering FMD vaccines.
Three apps are expected to be made available from Thursday, 16 July, through which farmers will be able to register to obtain vaccines themselves, De Jager says. These will be available for download, among other places, on the Department of Agriculture website.
The settlement agreement takes immediate effect and has been made an order of court, according to De Jager. This follows legal action instituted earlier this year by Saai, Sakeliga and Free State Agriculture against the department, arguing that there is no legal basis preventing the private sector from lawfully importing and administering FMD vaccines.
Aucamp met with representatives of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) last Wednesday to discuss ways of simplifying the process of submitting a Section 21 application to import vaccines. SAHPRA representatives also attended last Thursday’s discussions, where it was agreed to “iron out all the wrinkles”, De Jager says.
Also read: Aucamp’s out of court settlement opens door for direct import of FMD vaccines
How the new system will work
Any farmer will be able to register through one of the apps as an authorised person to obtain and administer vaccines, De Jager says. A certificate from the Director of Animal Health will then be issued, confirming the farmer’s authorisation.
Farmers will still have to obtain the vaccine from a registered veterinarian. De Jager explains that every vaccine bottle will carry a QR code. Once the vaccine doses arrive in the country, the QR codes will be scanned before the doses are transported to veterinarians. When veterinarians receive the doses, the codes will be scanned again to acknowledge receipt and record which farmer receives them.
Vaccines will no longer all have to be sent to Onderstepoort Biological Products for inspection and allocation, although this process will still apply to vaccine doses bought and distributed by government.
De Jager says it is important for farmers to note that they must notify the authorities at least five days before administering the vaccine. They will then have 14 days after vaccination to report it.
The apps will use the QR codes to record data in real time, showing which vaccine bottle was used to vaccinate which animals.
The system will collect all the information that must be submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), enabling South Africa eventually to apply for FMD-free status with vaccination and, later, FMD-free status without vaccination.
Regarding communication among the country’s veterinarians, De Jager says most are already connected through their professional organisations and commercial networks, through which they become customers of the importers.
“The vaccines entering the country will be distributed through this network of veterinarians. They all have cold-chain facilities and can meet all the requirements for the storage and distribution of vaccines.”
Also read: Farmers get clearer FMD rules as new measures open trade during quarantine
Booster doses needed
De Jager says that, for the country’s livestock population to build immunity, every effort will have to be made to vaccinate all susceptible animals over the next six to eight weeks.
“We first have to stop the disease, then manage it. And to stop it we have to deliver a second knockout blow. We expect about 40 million doses to be imported over the next two months or so.”
To continue controlling the disease, vaccinations will have to be repeated two-and-a-half to three months later, he says.
The vaccine costs about R45 per dose, excluding VAT, according to De Jager. Both Biogénesis Bagó and Dollvet publish their vaccine prices on their websites, and farmers should check these prices to ensure they are not being overcharged.
Also read:
KZN passes halfway mark in FMD vaccination campaign – seventh district completed
Free State introduces strict FMD biosecurity rules for IEC voter registration on farms
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