South Africa ‘not winning’ in battle against FMD
The minister of agriculture of South Africa, John Steenhuisen, has said the country is “currently not winning” its battle to contain foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
In a statement at the end of November, the minister said more than 930,000 animals had been vaccinated in the last three months. However, he said there were still 274 “unresolved outbreaks” of FMD in different parts of the country.
The ministry said “uncontrolled animal movement” was undermining its efforts to contain the spread of the disease.
In 2026, the department of agriculture will begin to implement a strategy to vaccinate the entire national herd. Mr Steenhuisen said vaccinating the national herd would take place systematically, beginning with the hardest-hit provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga and North West.
