Provincial efforts to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) have been strengthened with the arrival of an additional vaccine shipment in the Western Cape.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and provincial minister of agriculture, economic development and tourism, Dr Ivan Meyer, welcomed the latest consignment of 50 000 vaccine doses.
Winde said the province’s efforts to combat FMD continue to show strong progress.
“This latest shipment will further bolster our drive to vaccinate the province’s entire herd and is critical in protecting our economy and jobs. I want to thank all our partners who continue to work with us to contain and ultimately eradicate FMD in our province,” he said.
The latest allocation was made possible through a partnership with Dairy Management Consulting.
More than 155 000 vaccine doses have so far been administered across 629 vaccination sites, with the support of 29 private veterinarians.
“As a province, we will continue pushing to procure our own FMD vaccines. This will further streamline and strengthen our response to the outbreak,” Winde added.
While the outbreak remains under control, Winde stressed the importance of continued vigilance.
“We must remain alert and agile. By working together, we can protect both our provincial herd and our economy.”
Meyer emphasised the importance of strengthened control measures.
“We continue to prioritise the strengthening of systems that monitor and manage animal movement across the province. These controls are among our most important lines of defence against the further spread of FMD.”
The Western Cape Government also thanked Nova Feeds for covering the flight costs to transport the latest vaccine consignment to the province.