SA to develop vaccine for cattle

THE South African government has vowed to develop its own vaccine to fight foot-and-mouth disease in animals after an outbreak of the disease in a district of Limpopo last week.

Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana yesterday made the announcement after meeting various red-meat industry farmers and research groups.

Zokwana emphasised that the country has the capacity, through the Agricultural Research Council, to produce its own vaccine for this and other animal-related ailments.

He said the recent outbreak had only affected 50 cattle – more than 10 000 cattle in one of the districts in Limpopo were free from the disease.

Zokwana said his department had confirmed this after state veterinarians conducted tests on the cattle in the area.

“We want to emphasise that the outbreak is limited to Vhembe district, at Sundani Village. The affected cattle are less than 50 in an area with about 10 000 to 15 000 (cattle).

“The area remains under quarantine and the vaccination process is beginning, so no further infections can occur. Foot-and-mouth disease is not transmittable to human beings and there should be no panic,” Zokwana said.

He added that the red-meat products in local stores were disease-free and he urged residents to continue to enjoy eating red meat.