South Africa still battling FMD in cattle, mass vaccination campaign launched

South Africa has launched a mass vaccination campaign for cattle as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak of Foot‑and‑Mouth Disease (FMD) that is threatening the country’s livestock industry, meat supply and export markets.

The outbreak, which intensified late last year and has spread rapidly across the livestock sector, has already affected more than 297,000 cattle, while over 120,000 animals have been culled by farmers attempting to stop the spread of the disease.

Officials warn that the situation could lead to shortages of meat, job losses and millions of dollars in lost revenue, particularly after countries such as China and Zambia banned South African meat imports because of the outbreak.

The country’s Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen, officially launched the vaccination rollout, with one million vaccine doses recently delivered from Turkey. Authorities say more shipments are expected to arrive, although there are concerns that supplies remain far below what is required to vaccinate the country’s nearly 12 million cattle.

Steenhuisen said the government aims to vaccinate 80% of the national herd by December and reduce outbreaks by 70%, adding that the strategy could eventually help South Africa regain its status as a foot-and-mouth-disease-free country with vaccination.

The coastal province of KwaZulu‑Natal has been identified as the epicentre of the outbreak, with more than 17,000 farms affected. The crisis has been officially declared a national disaster, allowing the government to release emergency funding to tackle the situation.

South Africa’s National Treasury has allocated about $25 million to help fight the outbreak, with much of the funding expected to go toward purchasing vaccines.

Farmers and meat producers say they are already under severe pressure, as infected livestock must be quarantined and trade and exports have been halted, while vaccine shortages continue to hamper containment efforts.

Veterinarian Dr. Dirk Verwoerd from Karan Beef, the country’s largest meat producer, said the disease is damaging every part of the meat and dairy industry. According to him, the virus causes severe lesions in the animals’ feet, forcing farmers in some cases to euthanize hundreds of cattle for welfare reasons.

Karan Beef’s feedlot in Heidelberg, south of Johannesburg, is the largest in South Africa, covering about 2,300 hectares and capable of holding more than 140,000 cattle, highlighting the scale of the industry affected by the outbreak.

Authorities hope the vaccination campaign and emergency funding will help bring the disease under control and stabilize the country’s livestock sector in the coming months.