1 September 2025
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen says biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility, and failing to follow the rules is how diseases spread.
On Monday, he gave an update on the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
More than 270 cases have been confirmed across five provinces.
“ In KwaZulu-Natal, the outbreaks have continued to spread westward with confirmed cases in Dundee, Dannhauser, Newcastle, Alfred Duma, Okhahlamba, uMshwathi, eDumbe, eMadlageni local municipalities,” Steenhuisen said.
“Fortunately, the disease appears to have abated in the eastern part of the disease management area, though 180 outbreaks remain positive in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.”
Steenhuisen says an auction in February spread foot-and-mouth disease from KZN into Mpumalanga.
“ By late May 2025, additional outbreaks were reported in Gauteng, the North West, western Mpumlanga, and Free State. Investigations and forward and backwards tracing suggest both farm-to-farm spread and pinpoint introductions associated with livestock movements where isolation protocols were simply ignored and not observed.”
He said immediate steps include scaling up vaccine production.
For the longer term, Steenhuisen said investment in infrastructure, regional cooperation, and funding for veterinary services and research will be key, but admits gaps remain, particularly around buffaloes as carriers.
Source: ecr
