FMD: Over 130 000 cattle vaccinated
RUNDU – Over 130 000 cattle have been immunised against foot-and-mouth disease in the two Kavango regions since the outbreak in September.
In Kavango East where the FMD outbreak was first reported, 73 612 cattle were vaccinated, while 60 832 livestock were immunised in Kavango West.
In Kavango West the vaccination started on 5 November and a total of 22 teams are currently vaccinating cattle at various crush pens. The vaccination campaign is expected to last until 30 November. “Vaccination in Kavango East was completed on 13 November with booster vaccination expected to start the first week of December,” said state veterinarian Dr Joseph Kapapero.
Kapapero raised a concern that farmers are not responding swiftly to the call to bring cattle to crush pens.
“At most crush pens the response is poor,” he said. Kapapero also said that since agriculture is one of the backbones of the economy the outbreak has interrupted the livelihood of many people who sorely depend on livestock farming, more especially in the two Kavango regions. “Namibia is one of the countries in Africa which export beef to the European Union, China, USA and other markets. The access to these markets is based on the ability to detect and contain FMD outbreaks,” he said.
Kapapero urged farmers to take their livestock for vaccination as that is the only way to contain the outbreak in order for businesses to return to normal.
“The second round of vaccination will be announced in due course hence all farmers will be expected to present their livestock for vaccination,” he noted.