Premier Alan Winde during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) in George.
Image: Bertram Malgas, WCPP Media Liaison Officer
AS FOUR farms in the Mossel Bay area have tested positive for Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), Premier Alan Winde warned that the outbreak posed a serious risk to the province’s economic growth and trade competitiveness.
In an update on the situation, the Garden Route District Municipality, Western Cape Government and Agri Western Cape said 46 farms have been vaccinated with 8580 vaccines administered to date.
“The Western Cape will receive 30 000 doses of FMD vaccines from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina. Of these, 10 000 doses will be allocated to the Garden Route and will be in the Garden Route (today). Another 45 000 are expected by the end of next week to be delivered to the Western Cape,” the statement read.
The Western Cape Government Local State Veterinarian, Dr Leana Janse van Rensburg, received confirmation on Monday that laboratory results for the suspect farm in George were negative.
“However, test results for a heifer farm located 21km north of the index farm in the Mossel Bay area returned positive. Calves from the index farm had previously been moved to this property on January 21.”
All livestock on the affected farm, as well as on a neighbouring farm, have since been vaccinated. A 3km quarantine zone has been established around the affected property.
In his State of the Provincial Address, Winde said: “We have rolled out vehicle check points across 13 municipalities, and contained all confirmed outbreaks.
“So far, 12,000 vaccines have been administered across the province, with over 7,500 animals vaccinated in informal settlements along the Garden Route this past weekend. 30,000 additional doses of vaccine are on their way to the province from the national government. This will be scaled up over the coming weeks and we will work to ensure that the Western Cape is given its fair share of vaccines.”
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen will officially kickstart the nationwide mass vaccination rollout against FMD tomorrow in KwaZulu-Natal.
The intervention follows the arrival of one million high-potency vaccine doses from Biogénesis Bagó, Argentina on February 21.
As the largest single consignment of FMD vaccines ever to enter South Africa, this shipment marks the operational “kick-start” of the Department of Agriculture’s new 10-Year Strategic Plan to vaccinate the national herd. See Leader Page 6
Cape Times