The department of agriculture says it continues to fight foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in KwaZulu-Natal as it threatens the biosecurity of livestock in the province. This has prompted the department to implement hard measures to ensure that the disease does not spread widely.
Sara-Lea van Eeden, the spokesperson for FMD in the department, said positive cases of the disease have recently been detected in the Newcastle and Bergville areas of KwaZulu-Natal. She explained that during the traceback epidemiological investigation, the cases were linked to an auction that took place in February 2025 in the Utrecht area.
“Records of all animals present at the auction on that day were obtained, and trace-forward exercises are currently underway. These include clinical examinations of animals on recipient farms to detect signs of FMD, as well as the collection of blood samples to determine prior exposure or vaccination.”
Prevent infection and abide by law
“On one farm in Mpumalanga, cattle tested positive for FMD antibodies. Although these animals are not showing any clinical signs of the disease, the farm has been placed under quarantine, and further investigations are ongoing,” Van Eeden said.
She reminded livestock owners across the country of the FMD incubation period, which ranges from 2 to 14 days. During this time, animals may appear clinically healthy before showing any visible signs typically associated with FMD.
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“This highlights the critical importance of separating newly acquired animals from the resident herd for at least 28 days, even if a health attestation has been issued for the animals. Both the health attestation and the 28-day separation have been legal requirements since October 2022,” she said.
The department said that in terms of the control measures, those that were introduced in October 2022 remain intact, and livestock owners and farmers should abide by them.
“Movement of cloven-hoofed livestock across South Africa requires a health declaration from the owner. Newly introduced cattle, sheep, or goats must be isolated from resident herds for at least 28 days. Farmers are strongly advised to limit animal movements and exercise caution when procuring animals.
“Section 11 of the Animal Diseases Act imposes a legal duty on any owner or manager of animals to take all reasonable steps to prevent their animals from becoming infected with any disease and to prevent the spread of any disease from their animals or land to other animals or other properties,” she said.
Van Eeden added that essential biosecurity measures include limiting or postponing the introduction of new animals if possible and, if necessary, only introducing animals from known clean farms with a health declaration, preventing nose-to-nose contact of farm animals with animals outside the farm, maintaining secure farm boundaries, and restricting access for people and vehicles as much as possible.
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