Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform says more than 5000 herd of cattle have been infected by a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the Zambezi region, with 150 cattle reported to have died due to FMD related causes.
Agriculture minister, Calle Schlettwein said in order to address this situation, a total of 340 000 doses of FMD serotype O was procured at a cost of N$6,032,261.51 and delivered.
“Vaccination has started and it is currently on going, targeting the cattle population of 170, 000 in the Zambezi region. Farmers are urged to take all cattle at the nearest crush pen for vaccination, intensive disease surveillance to establish the extent of the outbreak continues in the western part of Zambezi region, and movement restriction of live animals and raw products from, into and via the Zambezi region has been instituted,” he said.
This comes as the Ministry’s investigations establish the source of the new outbreak as FMD serotype O.
“It is important to note that the FMD serotypes A & O are new viruses in Southern Africa and there is, therefore, a need for collaboration among SADC Member States, particularly the immediate neighboring countries in the control and prevention of these variants as they pose a threat to the livestock industry of Namibia,” Schlettwein said.
He said the outbreak could have detrimental effect of the beef sector, including exports from the northern areas to Ghana.
“It should also be noted that once FMD outbreak is detected in the NCA, it will hamper progress with efforts made by the Ministry to achieve freedom from the disease in the Protection zone of Namibia. Furthermore, it will also negatively affect the trade agreements that Namibia recently signed with countries, such as Ghana on the export of meat and meat products from the NCAs,” Schlettwein said.
