The Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen has confirmed that the first consignment of vaccines to combat Foot-and-Mouth disease has arrived in the country.

An outbreak of the disease across large parts of South Africa has caused red meat price hikes for consumers and bans on exports.

Steenhuisen says the department has purchased 900,000 doses from the Botswana Vaccine Institute.

“We’ve got a second batch on order with the Botswana Vaccine Institute. So, those will come in as well. We’re going to start in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, particularly in the disease management area in KwaZulu-Natal, (and) at some of the feed lots in Gauteng too, so we can start ensuring food security and that the price of food is not affected and getting those feed lots and abattoirs back up and running as quickly as possible,” says Steenhuisen.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease | Consumers to be affected negatively

Foot and mouth disease hotspots infographic: