FMD Response SA, an industry body of more than 250 farmers, welcomes a judgment by the Pretoria High Court allowing farmers to procure and self-administer vaccines against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), following an application brought by Sakeliga, the South African Agri Initiative (SAAI) and Free State Agriculture.
The ruling is a critical step in accelerating vaccination efforts needed to contain the spread of the disease.
The government’s stated goal is to vaccinate 80% of cattle by the end of December, despite the programme starting in February.
“An 11-month vaccination programme is too slow to achieve the simultaneous immunity required to stop disease transmission and meet the World Organisation for Animal Health standards for controlling FMD,” said Andrew Morphew, spokesperson FMD Response SA.
It remains essential that vaccination takes place within a tight six-to-eight-week window so that cattle develop simultaneous immunity and the virus stops spreading between herds.
The prolonged amount of time it is taking to administer the vaccines is precisely why vaccinated cattle at three dairy farms in KwaZulu Natal have become infected with the virus.
FMD Response SA said the judgment does not create a free-for-all or give farmers an automatic right to import vaccines themselves. Instead, it confirms that farmers may procure and administer FMD vaccines that have been lawfully imported or lawfully manufactured, under auditable conditions.
“The key question now is whether lawful private importers, manufacturers and their agents will be allowed to bring vaccines into the country and make them available to farmers without unnecessary delay. The court has opened the door to private vaccination. The government and SAHPRA must now ensure that lawful private vaccine channels can operate at the speed and scale this crisis requires,” Morphew said
FMD Response SA also notes that are credible reports that more than 90% of commercial beef farmers in KwaZulu-Natal have been unable to access state vaccines and that cattle at commercial farms in that province remain unvaccinated.
Reports such as this show precisely why the private sector needs to be able to administer vaccines with speed and scale. It is essential that the government does not stand in the way of the private sector importing FMD vaccines and selling them to private farmers.
The government will have imported up 13.5-million doses of FMD vaccine by the end of May, but what remains unclear is how many vaccines are being administered and how many remain in fridges
