Foot and mouth threat grows as disease suspected in pigs

South Africa’s foot and mouth disease (FMD) crisis that has plagued cattle since last year, could have manifested in pigs over the festive season, and there is no approved vaccine for them in the country. This is according to aLandbou Weekbladarticle quoting Dr. Thandi Chiappero, a veterinarian and head of consumer assurance at the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (Sappo).

“The results of blood tests by the state have confirmed foot-and-mouth at Sasolburg. SAPPO is waiting for the test results of the blood samples taken from the piggeries in KwaZulu-Natal,” she was quoted saying. The KZN piggeries in question are in the Winterton-Bergville area.

Frikkie Mare, CEO of the Red Meat Producers’ Association, noted in a circular that pig farms had “excellent biosecurity measures”. The FMD crisis poses a threat to food security. Pig farming is regarded as an efficient way of getting cheap protein onto shop shelves.