South Africa plans to expand domestic vaccine production to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease

The foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in South Africa has not yet been effectively controlled. The South African government will take measures such as expanding the domestic vaccine production scale to curb the spread of the epidemic.

Xinhua News Agency reported that South Africa's Agriculture Minister Stinheson said on Monday (September 1) that there are still 274 foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in South Africa that have not been effectively dealt with, involving Kwazulu-Natal Province, Hautten Province, Free State Province, North West Province and Mpumalanga Province, and they exist in various facilities such as breeding farms and livestock farms. He pointed out that the current epidemic prevention measures are scattered and lack adequate implementation and coordination, which has led to the continuous spread of the epidemic.

Stinhausen called for further adjustments to epidemic prevention measures, including enhancing sampling and diagnostic capabilities, strengthening livestock identification and traceability, and expanding the accessibility of vaccines. He said that South Africa would import more vaccines from Botswana and at the same time expand its own production scale. It is reported that a vaccine production plant with an annual capacity of 150,000 to 200,000 doses is expected to be put into use in March 2026.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a viral infectious disease that spreads among even-toed ungulates such as cattle, sheep and pigs. The main symptoms of affected animals are elevated body temperature, blisters and ulcers on the mucous membranes and hooves in the mouth. Foot-and-mouth disease is less likely to be transmitted to humans, but if one has excessive contact with diseased animals, they may also be infected.