By Sonica Naudé-Steyn
The first round of mass vaccinations for Foot and Mouth Disease was conducted over the weekend in the Greater Kokstad area.
The areas where vaccinations were conducted included Swartberg, Maraiskop, Makhoba, Kransdraai, Franklin, Kokstad Research Station, Tefelkop, Thuthukani, Pakkies, Emvukeni Farm, Extension 7 Farms, Goxe and Tourism, Diamond Vlei and Glenshader and Driefontein.
Statistics about exactly how many vaccinations were done have not been released by the KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, however the campaign has come as a minor relief to many local farmers, some who have endured a second round of foot and mouth disease in their cattle.
“The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has begun administering vaccines manufactured by Dollvet from Turkiye. The first batch saw 11 429 cattle inoculated with the vaccines targeting Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) SAT 1, SAT 2, and SAT 3 strains in the Johannes Phumani Phungula (4 083) and Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (7 346) local municipalities within the Harry Gwala District,” said the KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in a statement.
According to the department, mass vaccination drives are set to continue in the district until March 22.
“The province has received 560 000 doses, with 160 thousand allocated to the Milk Producers Organisation (MPO) for use in the same district,” said the department.
According to local Disaster Management, the greater Kokstad area is expected to receive another mass vaccination campaign soon.
- A mass FMD vaccination campaign took place in the greater Kokstad area over the weekend.
