Declaration of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) east of R66 and north of Mfolozi River in Northern KwaZulu-Natal
22 Mar 2011
The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has today declared the eastern part of the R66 and north of the Mfolozi River in Northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) as a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) infected zone, following intensive surveillance conducted in the area.
A team of experts consisting of veterinarians and technicians from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) head office as well as their provincial counterparts in KZN has been working around the clock collecting samples and running a series of tests on cloven-hoofed animals to determine the spread of the disease since the first outbreak was announced three weeks ago.
A total number of 14 roadblocks coming out of the infected area will be set up from today by the provincial law enforcement agencies to prevent the movement of cloven-hoofed animals in and out of the FMD-infected area.
The protection zone will be the area surrounding the infected area with the N2 as the northern boundary, N1 to the west and N3 to the south. This area will be used as a high-surveillance area where no movement restrictions are imposed.
To date, the department has not been able to isolate the virus but further tests are being conducted, including sending samples to the reference laboratory in the United Kingdom.
Thorough investigations by the experts on the ground uncovered the movement of cloven-hoofed animals outside KwaZulu-Natal, and the team quickly quarantined their farm where animals were kept.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, wishes to urge all, especially speculators who may have bought or exchanged animals through various means in the FMD-infected area in KZN since January 2011, to report such movement to the nearest State Veterinary Office.
Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said that the intensified surveillance and investigations will continue to ensure that the disease is kept under control.
"We wish to reassure our trading partners and the domestic industry affected by the ban on exports and the movement of animals that we are mindful of the economic impact caused by the outbreak of the disease and we will spare no effort to ensure that we curb the disease," Joemat-Pettersson said.
Statement issued by Selby Bokaba, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, March 22 2011
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