The Department of Agriculture (DoA) presented an update on the status of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the country to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, noting that the number of outbreaks are increasing in all provinces.

The latest province to have reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) for the first time during the most recent FMD scourge is the Northern Cape.

The DoA says the actual number of confirmed outbreaks is more than those reported to the WOAH owing to the process of reporting – for example, many highly suspect outbreaks still await laboratory confirmation.

The total open outbreaks in the country are about 1 072, of which 836 are reported to the WOAH while there are about 714 suspected outbreaks.

Of the confirmed outbreaks in the DoA’s database, 28 are in the Eastern Cape; 344 are in the Free State; 226 are in Gauteng; 208 are in KwaZulu-Natal; 18 are in Limpopo, 114 are in Mpumalanga, 128 are in North West; five are in the Western Cape; and one is in the Northern Cape.

There are at least no more suspected outbreaks in the Northern Cape.

The DoA confirms that FMD-positive and -suspect farms have been placed under quarantine with movement restrictions on live animals and their products, while the DoA continues to vaccinate affected herds in high-risk areas.

Government is ramping up efforts to conduct more intensive surveillance and advise farmers not to move animals from infected farms, while also encouraging veterinarians and animal health technicians to inspect at origin to issue movement certificates.

For their part, farmers are encouraged to conduct virtual auctions and not host physical auctions, as well as to report all clinical signs of FMD on their farms.

The DoA proposed to the committee that, to address insufficient State veterinary personnel on ground level, more vacant positions be advertised and contract appointments be sped up, where possible.

It was also noted that, on February 24, the Democratic Alliance (DA) formally wrote to North West Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Madoda Sambatha demanding urgent accountability for the North West’s veterinary capacity amid the FMD outbreak.

The DA says the successful rollout of vaccines depends on provincial implementation capacity, with the appointment of State veterinarians, filling of vacancies and designation of private veterinarians falling squarely within the responsibility of provincial government.

The party requested detailed information on the number of State veterinarians and animal health technicians currently in service in the province, the vacancy rates per district and the process for private veterinarians to apply for designation in terms of the Animal Diseases Act.

“If vaccines are arriving but provincial veterinary posts remain vacant, effective containment of the outbreak will not occur. The province must demonstrate that it has prioritised this exclusive constitutional function,” the DA states.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen on February 7 confirmed that private veterinarians can administer FMD vaccines; however, it is unclear how timeous the process is for this designation by provincial governments.

Moreover, to address overload at laboratories leading to slow result turnaround times, the DoA encourages veterinarians to use provincial laboratories and for provincial laboratories to be authorised to conduct specific tests.

After launching South Africa’s first long-term FMD strategy that involves a risk-based mass vaccination rollout on January 30, the DoA will soon present suggestions to the directorate of animal health for implementation, particularly to appoint more provincial vets.

The DoA also discussed a revision of the FMD contingency plan at a MinTech Veterinary Working Group, with an amended version having been submitted to the Ministerial Task Team for discussion.

The department is also finalising regulations for sign-off by Steenhuisen related to voluntary vaccination and the inclusion of pigs to better regulate their movement.

The DoA on February 21 received one-million vaccine doses that are being administered across the country, particularly in FMD epicentre zones in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State and North West, with batches of additional doses due to arrive in March.