Steenhuisen: no concern over meat shortage amid FMD outbreak

The recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD), which has been affecting South Africa’s meat industry, has now been detected in five of the nine provinces. This was confirmed on Sunday after Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen answered several questions which have been raised about the disease in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly received media enquiries about meat safety and interventions from the department to contain existing outbreaks and prevent future outbreaks.

“FMD is a highly contagious viral infection that impacts cloven-hoofed animals and it can affect some other species.”

According to the statement released by the government, it has been noted that KwaZulu-Natal is experiencing the most significant impact of the disease.

“We would like to put the facts on the table and ask all citizens to make it their business to obtain knowledge about how to mitigate the spread of this disease. After all, biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility,” said Steenhuisen

The department says interventions to mitigate the spread of the disease include the quarantine of all infected properties. This would allow no movement into, out of, or through affected areas or farms.

It added that large areas, where individuals cannot be served with quarantine notices, have been declared Disease Management Areas, and the same restrictions apply.

“They are further vaccinated and marked as vaccinated (with an ‘F Brand’ on the neck),”

The department has reportedly ordered 901,200 doses of vaccines at a value of over R70 million. This means that over 900,000 animals will be vaccinated in all areas that the department has prioritised.

According to reports, Limpopo and Mpumalanga will also be conducting their routine vaccinations, which are conducted three times a year. Meanwhile, some of the vaccines will go to Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Vaccination will reportedly start as soon as the vaccines are received and cleared. It is anticipated that the department will receive the doses late this week and will then start vaccinating next week.

At this stage, the department has confirmed that there is no concern for meat shortages despite some feedlots being affected. Several feedlots that are slaughtering are not affected.

Additionally, it has been clarified that the disease does not kill animals, so there is not going to be mass mortalities, which will result in fewer animals and therefore a shortage of meat.

When asked about the effects of consuming infected meat, the ministry has clarified that foot and mouth disease does not affect people.

“- [FMD] only affects cloven-hoofed animals, so consumers do not have to be concerned.”

Following the confirmed outbreak at Karan Beef, the ministry said the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) will activate a centralised operational centre at its headquarters on Monday.

The centre will reportedly be led by a designated RMIS veterinarian who will oversee a team of 13 veterinary professionals. The team will include a specialist public relations and public affairs agency, forming the FMD Working Group.

“The FMD Working Group will be mandated to develop and implement a structured, time-bound response to the outbreak, with medium- to long-term goals, including a focus on vaccination among other key areas.”