‘Massive economic impact’ – Foot and mouth disease case confirmed in Free State

A case of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in the Free State.

This was revealed by the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Thembeni Nxganisa.

This case comes after the foot-and-mouth outbreaks in the North West, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

President of Free State Agriculture Francois Wilken raised concerns of the impact the new case will have on the economy. He also stated that the spread of the disease could have been prevented.

“We will never again be able to say that the Free State escaped foot-and-mouth disease. That status has now been lost forever and the economic consequences are enormous,” Wilken said.

According to Wilken, stricter measures should have been put in place to curb infections outside the endemic area, since foot-and-mouth disease was first found in other provinces.

“The disease will have a massive negative economic impact, due to the restriction on transport of animals (such as auctions) as well as international trade bans on-livestock and livestock products,” he said.

Veterinarians

Last week, it was announced that more veterinarians will be needed to assist in monitoring the disease in the affected areas; and law enforcements will be deployed.

“Due to deficient law enforcement, the Animal Health Act is ignored and leaves room for the transport and trade of infected animals from the infected areas,” Wilken said.

Free State Agriculture (FSA) says it supports the powers given to veterinary services in terms of the Animal Diseases Act (35 of 1984) and it urges farmers in the northern Free State, around Viljoenskroon and Frankfort, to cooperate with the vets and to be vigilant for any symptoms.

The spread

Although foot-and-mouth disease is not transmissible to humans, they do play a major role in the spread of the disease. FSA is calling for strict biosecurity on all farm workers – such as restricting movement and disinfecting work clothes – on the infected and possibly infected farms and neighbouring farms.

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