The Department of Agriculture has issued a warning about the suspected outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth (FMD) disease at a farm in Ramatlabama, at the Ngaka Modiri Molema District in the North West.
According to the department’s media liaison officer, Reggie Ngcobo, the farm has been placed under quarantine due to serology results, pending outcomes from an ongoing investigation.
‘’The department wishes to emphasize at this point in time, it’s just a suspicion of an outbreak. Epidemiological investigations are under way to confirm the presence or absence of virus circulation,” said Ngcobo.
In 2022 North West was among the provinces which were affected by the FMD outbreak, when the country recorded 58 cases in farms and communal areas in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng.
Laboratory testing during that time confirmed the outbreak between Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp.
The contagious viral disease of cattle and sheep that causes ulceration of the hoofs and around the mouth, is most likely to affect production losses which will have a direct impact on people who depend on livestock.
The department has appealed to farmers in the province to exercise extreme caution.
“Farmers must not let any new cattle into their herd and not let cattle from their herd end up in other farms. FMD affects pigs, sheep, goats, and other clove hoofed animals/domestic and wild,’’ added Ngcobo.
Symptoms of FMD include lameness, fever and the appearance of blisters and sores in the mouth, feet, teats and mammary glands.
Farmers are urged to report suspicions of FMD to state veterinary services.
