JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, said by the end of May,
South Africa will have procured 15 million vaccines for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
This, he said, will be enough to cover the country’s entire cattle population.
"We are vaccinating at scale," Steenhuisen said.
A second round of vaccinations will follow within six months as efforts continue to contain the outbreak.
Steenhuisen said he anticipates that if all goes well, this will be the last major outbreak of FDM in the country.
At the same time, he said he hopes this move will allow the country to change its status with the World Organisation for Animal Health to FMD-free with vaccination
"This means we will open over 94 markets for the South African red meat products that have been closed for over 20 years. That’s going to be a game changer for the red meat sector in our country," Steenhuisen added.