No new confirmed cases of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) have been reported in the Western Cape in a month.  

Premier Alan Winde confirmed in a joint statement with Agriculture MEC, Dr Ivan Meyer, that the last confirmed case was reported on 22 March 2026 in Prospect Hill in Cape Town.  

“Since then, no new confirmed cases have been detected, marking one month without a new case in the province,” said Winde. 

The Garden Route District has gone two months with no confirmed cases, with the last suspected cases in Hessequa and Bonnivale testing negative.  

Winde and Meyer said this is a welcome sign of the stabilisation in the national outbreak of the disease, but Winde has stressed that vigilance must continue.  

“Foot-and-Mouth Disease presents a serious and ongoing threat to our livestock industry, food security and rural livelihoods. Vaccination remains the cornerstone of the Western Cape’s disease control strategy, as clearly articulated in our 21-point plan,” said Meyer.  

161,713 vaccines have been administered at 730 sites to date.  

“Vaccination coverage is currently highest in the West Coast (63%) and the City of Cape Town (56%), followed by the Cape Winelands (35%) and Garden Route (31%),” read joint statement, noting that no outbreaks were recorded in the Central Karoo and Overberg districts.

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Another 50,000 doses of the vaccine are being distributed to priority areas, with a focus on booster vaccinations, as well as “revaccination of previously affected farms, beef herds within a 10 km radius of infected farms, and communal and peri-urban cattle in affected municipalities”. 

While the provincial government is enhancing surveillance, permit enforcement, tracing measures and strict movement control, Winde called on livestock owners ot do what they can to limit the risk of spreading FMD. 

“Farmers and livestock owners are critical partners in this effort. We urge them to maintain strict on-farm biosecurity, comply with movement control regulations, report any suspected cases immediately, and cooperate fully with vaccination teams…The risk remains, and we must not become complacent.”