Agriculture is a ruthless industry. Farmers are delivered to the whims of nature: fickle weather patterns and the unpredictability of pests and disease. The most recent foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak can attest to this. Across South Africa, breeders and producers suffered greatly. However, new regulations aim to control and prevent the spread of the disease.
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease. It affects cloven-hoofed livestock like cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats as well as cloven-hoofed wildlife. It leads to fever, painful, fluid-filled blisters around the coronary band and in the soft tissue between the digits that can become ruptured ulcers, and lameness. Although the disease doesn’t directly cause death, as a virus, it doesn’t respond to antibiotics and cannot be removed from the animal’s body. Infected animals can contract secondary infections due to open sores, and young animals can die due to sudden heart failure.
Under certain circumstances, entire herds need to be culled.
The financial impact of FMD is detrimental to agricultural entrepreneurs because productivity decreases, reproduction becomes inefficient, and herds are lost.
Control and Prevention of FMD
It’s estimated that approximately 2% of the world’s cattle population is afflicted by FMD every year. The global impact on food supply and animal products cannot be ignored.
Although a vaccination is available to prevent the impact that FMD has on herds, availability and access to vaccines are complex.
Biosecurity and movement restrictions also play an integral role in keeping animals safe, but recently, an updated framework has been announced to create a consolidated directive on how veterinarians, farmers and key stakeholders need to approach the FMD problem in South Africa.
According to a media statement released on 25 June, the Department of Agriculture (DoA) indicated that the previous Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, had approved a single national framework. This document builds on the 2019 FMD Contingency Plan and subsequent amendments, related protocols issued under the Animal Diseases Act, and any other directives to provide clarity in controlling this disease.
Specifics of the FMD Framework
The need for a unified, national approach will allow all role players to improve their detection, management, and recovery from outbreaks.
Under the updated measures, it is clarified that vaccinated animals have neither been infected nor placed under quarantine. This is important because the virus never leaves the animal, and there needs to be an indication that a herd may continue to be traded and moved under normal requirements.
A major update is the step away from the idea that the entire herd must be removed before quarantine can be lifted. This means that producers will have various options for farm recovery. These include:
- removing animals,
- restocking with vaccinated animals or introducing livestock from FMD-free sources, depending on individual circumstances.
Heightened biosecurity is crucial to mitigating and controlling the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. Farmers, but in rural and peri-urban areas, are encouraged to use fencing to section off affected areas, allowing for more targeted control of movement.
With the proposed updates, fewer animal products, fodder, feed and manure will need to be destroyed. This move comes from a better understanding of the virus and the extent of the risk that the items pose.
The measures will strengthen restrictions on activities and materials that pose the greatest risk of disease transmission while extending precautionary controls to suspected cases of FMD.
Previously, one area that was particularly neglected was communal and peri-urban livestock systems. The new framework recognises the different management challenges associated with shared grazing areas, multiple ownership arrangements and livestock movement patterns.
The Department notes that the introduction of these approaches introduces practical quarantine management and targeted vaccination programmes tailored to these production systems.
Lastly, for meat production, the new FMD framework allows animals to be sent to designated FMD abattoirs from 16 days after a property has been declared clinically clear, while broader slaughter options, including export-approved facilities, become available after 42 days.
Additionally, veterinary procedures have also been streamlined. Farmers seeking authorisation to move products will benefit from clearer response timelines and escalation mechanisms.
A Note from Steenhuisen About the FMD Framework
Steenhuisen said the proposed framework will balance disease control with economic sustainability.
“The objective is simple: protect animal health and stop the disease spreading, while ensuring that farmers can continue operating safely wherever possible,” he said.
“For many farmers, particularly those operating under difficult financial conditions, the prospect of losing an entire herd can be devastating. These measures introduce practical alternatives that are scientifically sound and economically realistic,” Steenhuisen said.
“These measures reflect the latest scientific evidence, recognise the realities facing farmers on the ground and provide a balanced framework that protects animal health while limiting economic disruption,” he explained.
Steenhuisen indicated that the framework is the result of collaborative efforts between the DoA, the Ministerial Advisory Task Team on Animal Disease Prevention and Control, the FMD Industry Coordination Council, and veterinary experts.
Furthermore, the DoA will continue to review the measures as new scientific evidence emerges, with a formal review scheduled within 12 months of implementation.
