Published Date: 2017-10-10 14:58:50
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Foot & mouth disease - Zimbabwe [02]: bovine, impact, Botswana donates vaccine
Archive Number: 20171010.5370888
FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - ZIMBABWE [02]: BOVINE, IMPACT, BOTSWANA DONATES VACCINE
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Date: Mon 2 Oct 2017
Source: The Southern Times [summ., edited]
https://southernafrican.news/2017/10/02/bots-beef-industry-teeters-as-fmd-rears-its-ugly-head/
Botswana's beef industry is facing an uncertain future following a fresh outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Ngamiland district in northern part of the country. The Ministry of Agriculture and food Security explained that this comes about after reports from famers of sighting cattle that were showing suspicious signs.
Dr Letlhogile Modisa, the director of the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) said his officers have followed up the allegations and found 5 animals that were showing signs that are consistent with the disease.
"As a result of these findings, the slaughter and movement of all cloven hoofed animals and their fresh products within and out of the district are suspended until further notice," he said. Modisa also explained that export of all meat products from export slaughter and processing plants produced in the last 30 days in Ngamiland has been suspended.
For its part, Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) said that given the pronouncement(s) made by DVS on [21 Sep 2017], about suspected cases of FMD outbreak in Ngamiland, it has taken a decision to immediately halt production at its Maun abattoir, the area where the outbreak occurred.
BMC said this decision, which only concerns its meat plant at Maun, means that there would be neither buying nor slaughter of cattle in the Ngamiland region until such a time advised by the Director DVS. According to BMC, other services safe for buying/procurement and slaughter of cattle will continue as usual and unimpeded.
Despite having a laboratory that manufactures FMD vaccines, Botswana has been struggling to contain or eradicate the disease.
On a related matter, the government recently announced that it has donated a vaccine for FMD to neighbouring Zimbabwe in order to assist the country to tackle the current disease outbreak. The government invested heavily on prevention measures as well as on research to eliminate the disease and has been FMD free over the past 5 years. The vaccine donated to Zimbabwe is manufactured by the Botswana Vaccine Institute.
In a statement released by the principal public relations officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Boikhutso Rabasha said the donation of over 400 000 doses is an important measure to avoid a possible risk of reversing the efforts invested in restoring FMD free status in Botswana zones that share a border with Zimbabwe.
Botswana which was once an avid exporter of beef to the European Union (EU) faced serious challenges with several outbreaks of FMD over the last couple of years, greatly jeopardizing the growth of the country's beef sector.
[Byline: Mpho Tebele]
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Date: Fri 8 Sep 2017
Source: Newsday [edited]
https://www.newsday.co.zw/2017/09/botswana-donates-fmd-vaccines-zim/
The Botswana government has donated 473 200 doses of vaccine for FMD to help Zimbabwe contain the recent outbreak and ensure that the infectious disease does not spread into the neighbouring country, which is the region's prime beef producer.
The development came as Zimbabwe has reported persistent FMD outbreaks in the southern regions in the past few years and last month [September 2017] notified the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that it was failing to contain the disease due to vaccine shortages.
It added the decision was taken to avert FMD spilling into its borders. "This is an important measure to avert the possible risk of reversing the efforts invested in restoring the FMD-free status of Zone 6 and jeopardising the ongoing efforts to recover the FMD-free status of Zone 7," it added.
Botswana Zone 6 and 7 cover the villages of the North East District and Bobirwa Sub-Districts.
Zimbabwean officials, however, professed ignorance over the donation.
Agriculture deputy minister in charge of livestock, Paddy Zhanda, yesterday [Thu 7 Oct 2017] said: "I am not aware of that, as the government has not sent an SOS to the region."
Zimbabwe has had inconsistent supplies of vaccines in the past 2 years and farmers have to inoculate cattle every 4 months for all affected and non-affected animals.
Botswana still enjoys a beef export quota to the lucrative European Union market, while, on the other hand, Zimbabwe suspended beef exports to the EU and other countries in 2001 following FMD outbreaks that affected the State-owned Cold Storage Company's capacity to deliver its quota.
[Byline: Paidamoyo Muzulu]
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[Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is internationally recognized as a constraint to production and trade in cloven-hoofed livestock and their products, and has been problematic in this respect in Zimbabwe since 1931. However, the FMD situation has worsened in recent years, particularly since about 2000. The threat of FMD spreading from Zimbabwe to other Southern African countries, particularly those with recognised FMD-free zones allowing beef exports (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa), has been reported by ProMED-mail several times (eg 20020509.4139, 20060504.1283, 20080427.1457).
The worsening situation in Zimbabwe, and its impact upon the national economy and the region, and suggested methods to tackle the issue, including facilitating exports of beef, has been exhaustively addressed in the FAO paper "Development of a foot and mouth disease control strategy for Zimbabwe" (FAO/TAD Scientific Contract No. SFSD/040/2015, published 23 May 2016), accessible at http://www.cfuzim.org/~cfuzimb/images/fmddraft31516.pdf.
From a reliable source we obtained the following updated (and edited) information on the current FMD situation in Zimbabwe:
The country is experiencing FMD outbreaks in the southeast, sparked by mixing, in May 2017, of cattle and buffalo in the southeast (Masvingo and Manicaland provinces). During September [2017], FMD foci were reported from Chipinge, Chiredzi, Mwenezi, Zaka south, Chivi south, Beitbridge north and Mberengwa. A combination of movement controls and vaccination has been used to resolve the outbreak.
The following information relates to each province during the week ending [29 Sep 2017]:
1. Masvingo province: 70 cases in new areas in Chiredzi district; a single case in Zaka district. In the already infected areas in Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts there were 121 and 7127 new cases, respectively. Strategic vaccinations in Chivi, Mwenezi, Zaka, Bikita and Chiredzi districts have been completed. More vaccinations will be done after 28 days to completely resolve the outbreak foci in these areas.
2. Manicaland province: 16 new FMD cases on one property. A total of 10 properties reported infected in Chipinge district since the start of the outbreak in the area in September. The 1st round of vaccination was completed with a total of 53 659 cattle (91 percent cattle coverage) vaccinated.
3. Midlands province: The outbreak in Mberengwa district is still ongoing with 2440 cases reported at 11 dip tanks. Vaccinations to control the outbreak are still ongoing. So far a total of 29 325 cattle have been vaccinated in the district. Active clinical surveillance to monitor the spread in the province is ongoing in all surrounding areas.
4. Matabeleland South Province: 2 new properties clinically affected (19 cases out of 740 susceptible cattle) in Gwanda's West Nicholson area. An area of 10km radius around the infected properties was vaccinated.
An administrative map of Zimbabwe is available at http://tinyurl.com/y7hzdtrx.
To bring FMD under control in Zimbabwe, the 3 most crucial requirements, on top of the vaccination, remain:
1. Collaboration of the State authorities with the private sector and with the neighbouring countries
2. Transparency
3. Implementation of a practical, sector-supported Livestock Identification and Tracking System (LIT). This, however, should not be used for revenue collection or even be suspected as such by farmers, affecting their vital cooperation. Such use is counterproductive in terms of disease control. - Mod.AS
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/171.]
