THE Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, confirmed that a major consignment of 1,5 million Dollvet Foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on 1 March.
This shipment, imported from Turkey, was facilitated by Dunevax acting as the authorised agent. The department said the successful arrival of this batch demonstrates its strategic decision to partner with the private sector to secure a steady pipeline of high-potency vaccines.
Dunevax informed the department that the arrival of the vaccines on Saturday, 28 February 2026, was delayed due to the tensions in the Middle East and the restricted airspace over the Gulf States.
The batch follows the one million doses received on 21 February 2026 from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina. Upon landing last week, Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) immediately dispatched the Argentine doses to the provinces. KwaZulu-Natal was allocated 200,000 doses.
Provincial veterinary teams, state and private, acted swiftly, with vaccination of cattle herds already well underway in high-risk areas, according to the department.
Locally, the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) has committed to producing 20 000 vaccines per week and scaling this production up to 200 000 per week by 2027.
KZN dairy farms
Steenhuisen visited Colbourne Dairy Farm, near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal as part of the launch of the Department of Agriculture’s national mass vaccination strategy to decisively deal with Foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in the country.
Minister Steenhuisen commended the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for its “zero-waste” approach in starting vaccinations just 24 hours after receiving supplies. KwaZulu-Natal is identified as the FMD primary risk epicentre—housing over 1,6 million cattle herd in high-priority zones.
“We are committed to protecting the livelihoods of our farmers, from our communal lands to our commercial operations. This department has ensured that 45 teams will be deployed daily to 45 locations to vaccinate up to 90,000 animals per day to cover the 2,4 million cattle herd in the province,” Steenhuisen said.
Commitment to the dairy industry
Minister Steenhuisen addressed the economic distress within the dairy sector with a clear policy shift indicating that, effective from 24 February 2026, there are no restrictions on milk from vaccinated, uninfected farms or from farms that have not been infected or suspected of being infected with FMD. This is captured in the amendment of the 2024 FMD Contingency Plan, which was to be gazetted soon.
For the movement of milk from quarantined farms, only a single pasteurisation process will be required for local consumption. Milk that originates from properties under FMD restriction may not be processed for the export market, unless expressly agreed to by the importing country.
“We are moving away from treating high-risk farms as: guilty until proven innocent”. Only farms with confirmed or clinical signs of infection will be quarantined.
“We will not stop until FMD is eradicated, and South Africa receives its ‘FMD free with vaccination’ status. This is our promise to our farmers: We are doing everything in our power to keep your milk moving and your herds safe,” the minister said.
The minister also welcomed Cabinet’s approval of the national mass vaccination programme and National Treasury’s reallocation of approximately R400 million underspent agriculture funds toward the war on FMD.
Easing restrictions
To ease restrictions on affected farms as soon as possible, the Veterinary Working Group has also agreed on the following amended guidelines that can be implemented immediately, pending the formal amendment of the requirements for the control and management of FMD.
Identification of infected and vaccinated animals:
- On farms/premises that are infected or suspected of being infected, all cloven-hoofed animals must be individually identified and recorded on a database that will ensure lifelong traceability;
- On farms/premises that are NOT infected or suspected of being infected, all vaccinated cloven-hoofed animals must be individually identified and recorded on a database that will ensure lifelong traceability;
- No F branding will be required for suspect/infected and/or vaccinated animals.
Controlled slaughter from FMD quarantined premises:
- For slaughter earlier than three months after day zero, the current requirements and risk mitigation for slaughter at designated abattoirs remain in place;
- From three months after day zero, controlled slaughter from quarantined premises can take place at any registered non export abattoir;
- After three months post day zero, meat must be subject to maturation, however, there will be no further risk mitigation and no loss of parts of the carcass;
- No animals originating from properties under FMD restriction may be slaughtered for the export market, unless expressly agreed to by the importing country.
