Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine rollout in iLembe is set to begin at the end of the month, but farmers warn the delay has already taken a heavy toll.

FMD has been declared a national disaster, with KZN at the centre of the outbreak. It is a highly contagious viral infection affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. While commercial cattle and dairy operations in iLembe are relatively small, the district’s rural farming sector has been severely affected.

At a public meeting, hosted at the Maphumulo Town Hall on February 17, the iLembe district agriculture department state vet, Dr Onayi Dara, presented a sobering picture of the crisis. He said FMD had spread to 96 of 101 locations across iLembe, with almost 50 000 cattle infected.

“Ninety percent of the dip-tank locations are displaying clinical manifestations consistent with the disease. The district is effectively 100% affected,” said Dr Dara.

KZN Finance MEC Francois Rogers visited the district last week to assess the situation. He told the Courier that veterinary teams from the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development department were working closely with communal and commercial livestock owners.

“Foot-and-mouth disease has placed severe strain on farming communities in iLembe,” said MEC Rogers. “The government is acting decisively to protect livelihoods and stabilise the local agricultural economy.”

A mass vaccination campaign is scheduled to begin in late February and continue into early March after South Africa received one million vaccine doses from Argentina on February 21, with 200 000 allocated to KZN. Livestock owners have been urged to listen to vets and obey movement restrictions.

“The arrival of vaccines is a critical step forward. Our focus is on a co-ordinated rollout that reaches farmers on the ground as quickly and effectively as possible,” said Rogers.

Not everyone is satisfied with the government’s response. KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union vice-president Angus Williams criticised the handling of the outbreak and the slow vaccine rollout, saying FMD has spread like wildfire across the country.

“We predicted foot-and-mouth disease and warned government, as well as relevant departments, about it, but nobody listened,” said Williams.

“Some important questions have been answered, but the delay has already had a devastating economic impact.”

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