Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen.
(Delwyn Verasamy/ M&G)
South Africa is battling 274 cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Free State, North West and Mpumalanga, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has confirmed.
Steenhuisen told a media briefing on Monday that the department was implementing “critical interventions and measures to turn the tide against persistent foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in provinces”.
He said the outbreaks had far-reaching consequences for farmers who are affected by both the disease and the control measures imposed to contain it.
This comes as South Africa seeks to diversify from local consumption of its red meat to exploring export markets in the European Union, China, Japan and the Middle East.
Concurrently, officials said the agriculture department was ready to redirect the country’s citrus elsewhere if producers could not export to the United States market because of the 30% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump.
In November, Steenhuisen reached a deal to export citrus and beef to China pending phytosanitary and biosecurity requirements for FMD and two protocols for the export of greasy wool and dairy products.
The department said its agricultural products have already passed stringent European Union requirements and it should not be a problem to enter other markets once bilateral trade agreements are finalised at a diplomatic level.
Steenhuisen noted progress in some provinces with regard to the battle to contain foot-and-mouth disease.
“I am pleased to report that the outbreaks which afflicted the Eastern Cape in 2024 have not resurfaced in 2025. The last outbreak in the Eastern Cape occurred in September 2024,” he said.
After extensive surveillance, the disease management area was lifted on 4 July. But farms in the Humansdorp and East London areas remain under quarantine while final testing is carried out.
In Limpopo, all outbreaks were resolved in August 2023 and the disease management area was lifted in July. Both the Northern Cape and Western Cape remain disease free.
Steenhuisen said the government had procured 900 000 doses of vaccine from the Botswana Vaccine Institute at a cost of R72 million.
“The first 500 000 doses arrived in June and were used to vaccinate cattle in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, North West and Free State,” he said. “Just over a week ago, we received the remaining 400 000 doses, of which 50 000 are already distributed.”
The remaining doses will go to areas experiencing outbreaks.
KwaZulu-Natal accounts for 180 of the 274 active outbreaks, with cases spreading west into Dundee, Dannhauser, Newcastle, Alfred Duma, Okhahlamba, uMshwathi, eDumbe and eMadlangeni.
The virus spread to Mpumalanga through a February livestock auction, with further outbreaks confirmed in Gauteng, the Free State and North West. Current figures are: Gauteng 54 outbreaks, North West 26, Mpumalanga nine, and Free State five.
Investigations suggest both farm-to-farm spread and “pinpoint” introductions from livestock movements where isolation protocols were ignored.
Last month the agriculture department and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) convened a strategic gathering of more than 400 representatives from the government, academia and the industry, which concluded that existing approaches were fragmented and poorly enforced.
Recommendations included revising control zones; expanding sampling and diagnostics; scaling up domestic vaccine production; enforcing livestock identification and traceability and adopting a pathway to gradually regain foot-and-mouth disease-free status.
A mid-scale vaccine facility capable of producing 150 000 to 200 000 doses a year is scheduled for commissioning in March 2026.
Steenhuisen stressed that compliance with biosecurity measures was non-negotiable.
Reports of farmers moving infected cattle or treating them privately without reporting were “deeply concerning and irresponsible”, he said. “These actions not only contravene legal directives but risk entrenching FMD as endemic in South Africa.”
He urged livestock farmers to cooperate with veterinary officials, report suspected cases immediately and refrain from moving animals showing symptoms.
“Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Only through collective discipline and cooperation can we turn the tide and secure the future of South Africa’s livestock industry.”
Steenhuisen rejected claims by the Red Meat Producers Organisation that foot-and-mouth disease was “out of control”.
“But I also want to dispel the notion that it’s government is going around with the back end of FMD spreading this disease around the country. It’s people in the sector that are moving animals outside of the protocols, and selling animals outside of the protocols,” he said.
He urged the industry to propose solutions instead of “pointing fingers”, adding that successful containment in the Eastern Cape showed the value of cooperation.
The ARC expects to begin producing vaccines in the first quarter of 2026.
“We also see a huge opportunity to become the vaccine supplier of choice on the African continent, if we’re able to get the vaccines, which cover sets one, two, and three, to be available, produced, and out for market,” Steenhuisen said.
He added that the treasury would need to prioritise funding for vaccine facilities in the coming budget given the “huge economic potential” for domestic revenue and regional trade.