JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 27 –SouthAfricaonFridaylaunchedanationwidevaccinationcampaignagainstfoot-and-mouthdisease (FMD)toprotectthecountry’slivestockindustryandagriculturaleconomy,localmedia reported.DuringavisittoafarmnearMooiRiverinKwaZulu-NatalProvince,MinisterofAgricultureJohnSteenhuisensaidthatmassvaccinationremainsthegovernment’sprimarystrategytoeffectivelycontaintheoutbreak,accordingtoTimesLIVEnewssite.”Wearecommittedtoprotectingthelivelihoodsofourfarmers,fromourcommunallandstoourcommercialoperations,”Steenhuisensaid,notingthatthegovernment’sgoalistoregainits”FMD-freewithvaccination” status.Tosupportthenationwideeffort,45vaccinationteamshavebeendeployedacrossthecountry,operatingdailywithatargetofinoculatingupto90,000animalsperdayandcoveringtheapproximately 2.4millionheadofcattleinKwaZulu-Natal,whichhasbeenidentifiedastheprimaryepicenter of the outbreak.Regardinglong-termvaccinesupply,theAgriculturalResearchCouncilhasbegunproducing20,000dosesperweek,withplanstoincrease output to 200,000 doses per week by 2027.TheNationalTreasuryhasreallocatedapproximately400million rand (about 25.1million U.S. dollars)ofunderspentagriculturefundstosupportthefightagainstthedisease.”Thisisourcommitmenttofarmers:Wewilltakeallnecessarymeasurestoensurethesafetyoflivestockandthecontinuedoperationofthedairysector,”Steenhuisen added.Earlierthismonth,theSouthAfricangovernmentdeclaredtheFMDoutbreaknationwidea”nationaldisaster.”AccordingtoarecentreportreleasedbytheBureauforFoodandAgriculturalPolicy,atotalof24,400FMDcaseswerereportedindomesticlivestockinthecountryin 2025.
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