FMD cases in //Kharas reach 131
Namibia has recorded 131 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases across 18 infected farms in the Karasburg State Veterinary District, with compulsory vaccination in the affected area that began on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform said on Wednesday that 63 011 animals had been inspected since the outbreak was confirmed on 23 September. All positive cases were identified as serotype SAT 1.
The outbreak remains confined to the Karasburg district, where veterinary teams have expanded surveillance from a 30km to a 50km radius around the first infected farm. Of 65 farms targeted in the second round of inspections, 11 had been inspected by 14 October.
The ministry stressed that the //Kharas and Zambezi outbreaks were not linked.
Vaccination and new controls
Compulsory vaccination in the Karasburg district is scheduled to take place in three rounds over three months, starting on 14 October. The campaign covers farms south of the B3 and C10 roads towards the Orange River, as well as a strip of two farms north of those roads.
Livestock owners must present their animals at the times and locations communicated by the district veterinary office. Vaccination will be carried out by government veterinary officials, and owners are prohibited from vaccinating their own animals because FMD is a state-controlled disease under the Animal Health Act of 2011.
The ministry has also announced plans to construct an animal-disease control fence from Klein Manasse near Aroab to Naute Dam and then to the Fish River Canyon. Construction is due to begin after the required notices have been served on affected landowners.
Eighteen roadblocks with veterinary checkpoints have been operating in //Kharas, Khomas and Otjozondjupa since 25 September. A Namibian Defence Force drone team began monitoring compliance at the outbreak’s epicentre on 13 October.
Zambezi outbreak under surveillance
In the Zambezi Region, FMD was confirmed on Kalala Island on 6 October. No new clinical cases or additional lesions had been reported by 13 October, following surveillance in which six teams examined 6 226 cattle at 17 crush pens.
Emergency vaccination has covered 10 864 cattle. A total of 2 942 were vaccinated on Kalala Island from 7 to 9 October, followed by 7 922 cattle at 11 crush pens on 12 and 13 October.
A strategic vaccination programme involving seven teams is scheduled to continue until 21 October. Five strategic roadblocks are also due to become operational from 14 October at Kongola, Selela, Luhonono, Bukalo and Nakabolelwa.
Despite the absence of newly reported cases, the ministry warned that transmission could not be ruled out. The region remains at high risk because resident buffalo populations in protected areas can carry the virus and FMD outbreaks are continuing in neighbouring countries.
The ministry urged farmers, the livestock industry and the public to report suspected unauthorised movement of meat and meat products in breach of the restrictions.
It also announced that weekly FMD briefings would be held every Wednesday at the Government Information Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, to provide regular updates on the outbreaks and containment measures.