Active measures are in place and implemented to avoid any further spread of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the Western Cape and the rest of the country.
On Friday (20 February) morning Premier Alan Winde together with Dr Ivan Meyer, provincial minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, gave an update of the Western Cape’s response to the FMD outbreak, which has been declared as a national disaster in South Africa.
“This is a big issue for agriculture, it’s a big issue for the animals in our province and we’ve got to protect those animals and the industry, but it is not transferable to humans. So, nobody in our province has to worry about that, but what you must worry about is that it is not just the movement of animals that can spread it, but humans can also spread it,” says Winde.
“It’s how we move on and off farms, how we move in areas that are infected and just make sure we understand what those biosecurity measures are. They are critical. We’ve got to make sure we don’t enable the spread across this province, so that we can keep the jobs of those people who put food on the table everyday. Because of this economy we’ve got to protect those jobs every single day.”
Western Cape economy
FMD is an infections disease and cause painful sores in the mouth and around the hooves of cloven-hoofed animals. These animals include cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
“Our food security is safe. There is no food security risk,” Meyer emphasized.
“The Western Cape have five confirmed cases of Foot-and-Mouth Disease. Why is this important for agriculture? It is very important because agriculture is 11% of the Western Cape’s economy and the livestock industry in the Western Cape is [worth] about R13.5 billion. So, this is a significant industry here in the Western Cape. It also employ about 50 000 people. As the Premier has indicated there is no need to panic and there is also no shortage in meat or milk, but it does require strict control measures to prevent the spread of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.”
Meyer disclosed that the national Minister of Agriculture is currently issuing a Government Gazette in which they will further announce control and movement measures.
“The provincial government must also do its part because in terms of the constitution. Provincial veterinary services is a provincial exclusive legislative competence and that’s why our provincial veterinary services are also actively involved. We are also working with the national minister in terms of determining a national vaccine protocol. I attended a meeting and this is currently being discussed. This is very important that we deal with this animal disease in terms of a whole of society.”
Earlier this month a positive case of FMD was detected in Mbekweni within the Drakenstein Municipality. The area have since been placed under immediate veterinary quarantine. This case has also prompted the provincial government to enable a 21-point plan that include 24/7 border controls and a permit system and recovery involving cleaning operations and monitoring quarantine areas.
Meyer said they have been flooded with many questions from the public. For this reason a FMD hotline has been set up in the Western Cape and is already active. The contact number is 080 928 4102 and the email address is fmdhotline@westerncape.gov.za.
Fight against FMD
Dr Noluvuyo Magadla, Director for Animal Health for the Western Cape Department for Agriculture, explained the province’s vaccine roll out strategy.
“Our main aim now is to vaccinate as many animals as possible to minimize the FMD transmission within the province and to prevent any new virus introduction. New virus introduction we are preventing by limiting the movement into the Western Cape and also limiting introductions into the farms, which are still not infected up to now. How are we doing that? We are targeting all the infected herds. Immediately when we hear there are suspected clinical signs we send an official to check that herd and we vaccinate immediately. We are no longer waiting for the lab results. We do take blood samples for lab testing, but we vaccinate immediately. We also vaccinate the immediate farms close by.”
According to Magadla they will also vaccinate all high risk herds.
“An example of those are our informal settlements and which we don’t have control over and the animals are roaming all over. The next target is our diary herds, which we are prioritizing. We had discussions with MPO and private vets who will be assisting us. We are also vaccinating beef herds, which are also high risk.”
Vaccinations are well underway in the Western Cape. It was also disclosed that private veterinarians are now being roped in to help with further administration of vaccines. Meanwhile, it has been made clear that the vaccine are provided by national government and therefore it is free of charge.
Support for farmers
Wiesenhof Coffee Roastery in Franschhoek also showed their support for farmers and the cause to help curb FMD on Friday morning. The roastery made a significant contribution towards the disaster relief fund of the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai). The donation of R500 000 will help bring relief to farmers who have been hit hard by the FMD outbreak.
Kobus Wiese, owner of Wiesenhof, said: “When you enjoy a cup of coffee with us, you stand with our farmers. Together we are building a stronger agricultural sector and protecting food security for the future.”
Dr. Theo de Jager, Chairman of Saai, added: “Family farms are the backbone of food security. When they fall, communities fall with them. This partnership proves that the private sector is willing to take responsibility when systems fail.”
In the meantime Winde and Meyer reiterated that farmers continue to have their support. They have vowed to keep the public up to date with regards to the FMD response within the Western Cape.
