WC Agri Dept monitoring 5 cases of foot-and-mouth disease

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture is monitoring the five confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the province.

The department said over 3,000 cattle have been vaccinated in Mossel Bay and more than a thousand in the Drakenstein and City of Cape Town municipalities. 

The Drakenstein region is under quarantine since the weekend after a case was confirmed last week. 

EXPLAINER | What is foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and how it affects us

Three suspected cases linked to the Mossel Bay case are still awaiting laboratory confirmation.

Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said a case in Klapmuts has arisen among communal cattle that have also been quarantine and vaccinated.

“It is in Mbekweni, Mfuleni, Kalkfontein, Makhaza and Mossel Bay in the Garden Route. Phesantekraal, the cattle there have also been vaccinated as a high-risk area for the spread of foot-and-mouth disease although there are no clinical signs of foot and mouth disease in the Phesantekraal.”