BE VIGILANT: Don’t buy in foot and mouth disease

by Dr Lesley van Helden

TThe Western Cape Department of Agriculture wishes to caution farmers about the risk of buying livestock of unknown origin.

Taking into account the ongoing outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in cattle in the previous free zones of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo Province and recently the NorthWest, Free State and Gauteng Provinces, there is a high risk of spread of the disease by movements of cattle to other parts of the country.

Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and certain game species. The virus is found in all body fluids, such as saliva, urine, faeces, milk and in the air that diseased animals expel. Animals get this disease when eating or breathing in the virus from these body fluids. People can also spread the virus through contaminated clothing, shoes, hands, equipment and vehicle tyres.

Sick animals get blisters and sores in the mouth and on the feet, making it difficult for the animal to eat and walk, and often causing drooling. Farmers lose money because sick animals lose weight, do not grow and produce less milk. Young calves may also die.

Learn more Representation of a footand-mouth disease (FMD) virion at 2,9Å resolution showing the relative position of the four structural proteins. Image and photos courtesy of www.anipedia.org

Protect Your Livestock

Farmers can protect their livestock by applying biosecurity measures. All of these are good principles to follow to prevent introduction of any disease:

Be vigilant about where new animals come from. Do not buy animals if you do not know their origin or if they come from a place where they had contact with other animals of unknown origin. Only buy from owners with known healthy animals that can provide a health attestation for their animals from a veterinarian.

Keep new animals separate for four weeks and monitor them for any signs of disease before mixing them in with the rest of your herd. Infected animals can take up to two weeks before showing signs of foot and mouth disease, so animals that look healthy are not necessarily safe.

Do not allow your animals to have contact with animals belonging to other owners.

Do not allow unnecessary visitors onto your farm.

Disinfect hands, shoes, clothing, vehicles and equipment on entry to the farm and between groups of animals being kept separate.

Report any signs of disease immediately to your local state or private veterinarian. Do not move or sell sick animals. AP

For more information, contact Dr Lesley van Helden: or Dr Laura Roberts: