Some cattle in two dairy herds in KwaZulu-Natal have been infected with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), after being vaccinated against the virus in March this year.

FMD Response SA spokesperson and commercial farmer Andrew Morphew said: “The infection of vaccinated cattle shows that immunity wanes, and underscores that to eradicate FMD, all cattle need to be vaccinated within a tight window of six to eight weeks so that the virus stops spreading.”

“Only simultaneous immunity will stop disease transmission. We need a wall of vaccination that will stop the disease. Without it, the virus will continue spreading, including to previously vaccinated cows,” he added.

FMD Response SA, a group of farmers and industry experts, welcomes Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen’s recent public remarks that vaccinations will be conducted at an accelerated pace.

Morphew said: “FMD Response SA is encouraged by media reports that Minister Steenhuisen sees the need for a speeded-up vaccination response. We hope that this means that the government’s stated plan to vaccinate 80% of the country’s cattle only by December will be replaced with a focused strategy to vaccinate in tight windows of six to eight weeks.”

It is possible to vaccinate the country’s cattle in a tight time frame if the private sector is more fully allowed to purchase, distribute and administer the vaccine.

Prior experience from KwaZulu-Natal shows 34 private sector veterinarians could vaccinate 50 000 cattle in a day. This means all cattle in South Africa can be vaccinated within eight weeks, if there is cooperation among the highest levels of the public and private sectors.

Morphew added: “We must learn from countries that have successfully eliminated FMD. For example, Argentina vaccinated 60 million cattle during two targeted windows, eradicating the disease.”

Brazil similarly achieved success, using the private and state sectors, to vaccinate in tight time frames, resulting in simultaneous immunity among cattle.

Failure to eradicate FMD will lead to tens of thousands of rural job losses, rising beef and dairy prices, as well as crippling financial losses for subsistence, communal and commercial farmers.

Photo credit: disa.org