By Akani Nkuna
Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen on Saturday oversaw the arrival of 1 million high-potency vaccines to fight Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), saying the shipment would reinforce biosecurity and support intensified measures to safeguard livestock, farmers and rural livelihoods.
The vaccines, sourced from Argentine manufacturer Biogénesis Bagó, arrived at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg as part of a supply plan announced earlier this week.
An additional 5 million doses are expected to follow in March.
“This is the beginning of the flow of vaccines from Argentina, from other countries into South Africa, to be able to fight Foot-and-Mouth Disease, to be able to turn South Africa ultimately into an FMD-free country,” he said.
“We can regain our status with the World Organisation for Animal Health as a FMD-free country. Our friends in Argentina showed us the way to go, and it is the exact journey that they followed to defeat FMD in South America.”
Steenhuisen said the vaccination programme would be supported by a multi-stakeholder approach involving civil society, private and state veterinarians, animal health technicians and citizens, in an effort to tackle the outbreak.
Saying that vaccination had started in some affected areas but that limited supply had constrained speed and coverage, Steenhuisen added that the arrival of this shipment should expand coverage and help stabilise the livestock sector.
He discouraged farmers from concealing the disease, warning that non-compliance posed a major biosecurity risk and could undermine the response.
“Those who deliberately move animals illegally, conceal infections, or ignore restrictions threaten the recovery of the entire sector. Where there is wilful non-compliance, we will work with law-enforcement authorities and the full might of the law will be applied,” Steenhuisen said.
He reiterated government’s commitment to vaccinate South Africa’s over 14 million cattle herd over the next 10 years.
The vaccines will be distributed across all nine provinces, with KwaZulu Natal and the Free State each receiving 200,000 doses, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West 100,000 each, the Eastern Cape 150,000, Gauteng 70,000, the Northern Cape 50,000 and the Western Cape 30,000.
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