OWN CORRESPONDENTS, Durban | Wednesday
ANOTHER 34 cattle have tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal’s midlands, dashing hopes of an early end to bans on South African agricultural products imposed since the outbreak of the highly infectious viral disease last month.
The latest reported cases of infection came as members of the European Union’s veterinary standing committee arrived in KwaZulu-Natal to assess measures taken by South Africa to contain the disease.
Authorities will deploy up to 1 000 army commandos in the area to reinforce quarantine measures after the infected cattle were found on a communal farm in a quarantine zone in the Camperdown region.
The troops will enforce the newly-extended quarantine zone on foot and motorcycles, backed up by air reconnaissance. The zone, 10km wide, has been extended by a further 10km from the new infection site, and authorities plan to create a series of concentric barriers around it.
Segaodi Mahlangu, a representative from the government’s Foot and Mouth Disease Control Centre, said the infected cattle would be put down, as authorities have been forced to do with more than 3 400 head of livestock since September.
The disease, apparently imported in swill bought from a ship in Durban harbour, killed 70 pigs on the original infected farm, and the authorities proceeded to slaughter infected cattle, sheep, pigs and goats to prevent it spreading.
The Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health removed South Africa from the list of countries deemed free of foot-and-mouth disease in September, and the European Union, Botswana, Hong Kong, Lesotho, Namibia, Mauritius, Singapore and Swaziland have imposed controlled bans on various animals and livestock products from South Africa.
The EU has placed a temporary suspension on cloven-hoofed products from South Africa, and meat industry officials say the verdict of the visiting officials was potentially more important than the bans other countries have imposed. – AFP