Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has established a rapid response team to deal with all current outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

This follows a Disease Management Area (DMA) declaration gazetted by the Minister last week to prevent the spread of the disease through the movement of cattle, sheep, goats, and products derived from these animals in certain areas.

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The team is mandated to provide immediate support and critical decision-making assistance within the first 48 hours in the occurrence of an outbreak of FMD.

The team, appointed in accordance to section 2(1) of the Animal Diseases Act, comprises seven government and industry experts, including Dr Mpho Maja, Dr Shaun Morris, Dr J Strydom, Dr Patricia Froneman, Dr Matlou Rabala, and Dr Gerhard Neethling.

‘They will ensure regular communication, assist with guidelines on how affected farmers handle milk, meat, or other produce out of affected areas and rope in agri
cultural specialists to advise on the economic impact on the affected areas,’ the department said in a statement.

In further efforts to prevent the spread of FMD, the Department of Agriculture last week declared a Disease Management Area, which included part of the Kouga and Kou-Kamma Municipalities in the Eastern Cape.

This follows the outbreak of the disease in the two municipalities, where cattle on 26 farms have tested positive for the disease.

The department said the cattle on the positive farms have been vaccinated to decrease their viral load and to control the severity of the clinical signs seen in especially dairy cattle.

The positive farms were also placed under quarantine, with strict movement control.

The department has emphasised the significance of the incubation period for FMD, noting that it is the period when animals appear to be healthy, in the early stages of infection (incubation period) where they are shedding the virus without showing clinical signs of disease yet.

It also reiterat
ed the call for farmers to observe biosecurity on their farms and to protect their own herds from becoming infected with disease.

Section 11 of the Animal Diseases Act imposes a legal duty on any owner or manager of animals to take all reasonable steps to prevent their animals from becoming infected with any disease and to prevent the spread of any disease from their animals or land to other animals or other properties.

Source : South African Government News Agency