North West, South Africa — Provincial authorities have confirmed 138 outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the North West province, as authorities are now inoculating against the virus in efforts to stop the current outbreak from spreading further, reports Friday from the South African Government News Agency.
The 135 cases found in cattle, 2 in pigs, and one case in a goat have been identified in 16 of the province’s 18 municipalities, with JB Marks/Ventersdorp, Potchefstroom/Tlokwe and Rustenburg being three of the areas suffering the most cases, according to the North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Authorities have distributed the first 1 400 doses of FMD vaccine into the herds, first in dairy herds within the Bojanala District and catalogued on the Livestock Identification Traceability System (LITS). Further vaccination will occur as extra vaccine doses arrive later in the month; authorities said the allocation would be based on risk assessments of an area’s situation.
An extra danger remains the uncontrolled movement of animals, and authorities are encouraging farmers and rural communities to follow newly implemented movement rules and to alert veterinary doctors or animal health technicians as soon as any cases are suspected. This inoculation campaign, officials added, is part of a national plan to import more vaccine and bolster South Africa’s strategy to combat the long-term effects of FMD.
Farmers and all concerned are asked to work with officials and take every necessary precaution for vaccination and security procedures to protect the nation’s agriculture.