South Africa Ramps Up Efforts Against Foot-and-Mouth Outbreak

South Africa is increasing its vaccine stockpile and broadening inoculation efforts to combat a worsening foot-and-mouth disease crisis threatening the country's beef supplies, as reported by the agriculture ministry. The disease, a highly contagious viral infection affecting cloven-hoofed animals, has seen outbreaks in five of South Africa's provinces, with KwaZulu-Natal most affected.

This week, an outbreak was reported at Karan Beef's Heidelberg facility, which operates the country's largest feedlot, located about 50 kilometers southeast of Johannesburg. The feedlot, which processes around 2,000 cattle daily, is currently under quarantine, potentially impacting beef supplies. To tackle this, the government has ordered more than 900,000 vaccine doses, with the first batch set to arrive next week.

In addition to responding to current outbreaks, the government plans to build permanent infrastructure to manage future risks, according to Thursday's statement. There are rising calls from cattle producers to declare a 'state of disaster' to safeguard the industry from financial losses. Meanwhile, South Africa is also conducting its first mass vaccination of poultry following a devastating avian flu that struck the livestock sector in 2023.

(With inputs from agencies.)