JOHANNESBURG, June 23 (Xinhua) -- South Africa has officially launched its foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination drive, as outbreaks of the disease have been confirmed in four provinces of the country, said a senior government official on Monday.
South African Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen on Monday visited one of the country's largest beef producer, Karan Beef, to oversee the vaccination of livestock in the company's feedlot in Heidelberg, near Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, where a FMD outbreak was confirmed earlier in June.
"The first batch of 900,000 vaccines arrived in South Africa last week, and we commenced with the vaccination over the weekend," Steenhuisen told reporters during the oversight visit.
"Obviously, there'll be a second batch on order, and we will continue to purchase vaccines in order to get this particular matter under control, not only here in Gauteng, but also in KwaZulu-Natal, where we have a major outbreak of FMD," he said.
When asked to quantify losses associated with the FMD, Steenhuisen said losses were running in the "hundreds of millions." He confirmed that four provinces have been affected by the outbreaks, with KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng being the hardest hit, particularly northern KwaZulu-Natal.
He also warned that individuals who fail to comply with the regulations, which cover the movement of livestock from disease management areas and the operation of auctions, will face criminal charges.
