Pretoria - An outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has been confirmed in an area of the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality in Limpopo.
Director of Communications at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Steve Galane said the disease was detected in a dairy cattle farm situated in a contagious disease zone previously known as Buffer Zone.
FMD is one of the most contagious animal diseases and causes deaths mainly to young animals through inflammation of the heart muscle.
He said cattle showing typical clinical signs of FMD such as salivation, with lesions in the mouth and on the tongue were observed on 6 August.
Galane said 19 animals in a group of 80 heifers that were inspected had lesions, adding that the Onderstepoort Trans-boundary Animal Diseases Programme of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute confirmed the diagnosis on 13 August as an FMD virus.
"Further identification of the type of FMD is in progress. The FMD Controlled Area is under constant surveillance, with twice yearly vaccination of all cattle in the vaccination area of the Protection Zone (previously called Buffer Zone) and strict movement control of all cloven-hoofed animals," he said.
He further said they have intensified their usual control measures in the area together with the Limpopo provincial department.
"The affected farm has been placed under quarantine and no cloven-hoofed animals or their products may leave the area.
"The outbreak is being controlled by vaccination and strict movement control of live cloven hoofed animals and their products," he said.
The public have been urged to cooperate fully with authorities to ensure that the outbreak is brought under control as soon as possible.
Galane said the detection of positive cases in the FMD Protection Zone do not affect South Africa's Foot and Mouth Disease Free Status without vaccination, as recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
"Again it does not affect the export status of the country and this outbreak has been reported to the OIE," he said.
People can be infected through skin wounds or the mucous membranes in the mouth by handling diseased stock, handling the virus in the laboratory, or by drinking infected milk, but not by eating meat from infected animals.
However, infection of humans is temporary and mild and FMD is not considered a public health problem.
FMD is endemic in parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America with sporadic outbreaks in free areas.
