Namibia threatened by livestock diseases

THE Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has warned of additional outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in South Africa and contagious lung disease in the northern communal areas, which pose a real threat to Namibia.

In a notice issued on 9 August, the ministry advised importers and the public that no import of cloven-hoofed animals or their products will be allowed from South Africa to Namibia.

This was because there were 110 open FMD outbreaks in the previous FMD free zone of South Africa, which occurred from 13 June to 5 August 2022.

“These outbreaks were reported in KwaZulu Natal, which had 73 cases, Limpopo, with seven cases, North West (14 cases) Mpumalanga (1 case), Gauteng (1 case) and Free State (14 cases).

This information was provided by the directorate of animal health of South Africa, in an update report on the FMD outbreak and surveillance on 5 August.

The notice was confirmed by ministry spokesperson Jona Musheko, who said it was specifically directed at the four border posts of Mata Mata, Vellorsdrift, Sendelingsdrift and Klein Manasse, which were recently reopened by the Ministry of Home Affairs, after being closed in 2020 due to Covid restrictions.

Meanwhile, in a tweet on 8 August, agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein warned of a contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (lung disease) that had broken out, and was spreading in the northern communal areas.

“It was introduced from cattle being herded from Angola to Namibia. We need to strictly adhere to vaccination campaigns to prevent losses through contagious diseases,” Schlettwein warned in his tweet.

The agriculture ministry in a statement said the suspension of imports was prompted by the current resurgence of new cases of FMD in six provinces of South Africa, and there was need to reinforce control measures to prevent the possible spread and introduction of FMD into the free zone of Namibia, as it shares a common border.

On the list of banned products for importation are fresh/frozen pork; uncooked processed pork; raw meat; bovine embryos and semen; raw meat, including pork and uncooked processed beef.

Also banned are grass, forages, Lucerne and silage, as well as other FMD potentially infectious materials.

However, cooked processed products of cloven-hoofed animals are allowed for importation and in-transit, such as milk and milk products, hides processed up to wet blue and fully processed trophies.

Other preventive measures being instituted at entry points between South Africa and Namibia are thorough disinfection of all trucks in the livestock business before entering Namibia, and footbaths to be placed at all entry points.

Email: matthew@namibian.com.na