Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the provincial government took immediate action to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease after the first case in the province was reported earlier this month.
Officials are monitoring five confirmed cases in the province, where thousands of cattle have already been vaccinated and quarantined in Mossel Bay, Drakenstein and Cape Town.
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Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country’s entire herd of more than 14 million cattle would be vaccinated to curb the spread of the disease in the country.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said a massive coordinated effort was launched to stop the disease from spreading in the province after the first case was reported earlier this month.
“I’ve got to thank those that are involved in our joint operations commands, in our districts, in the municipalities, those people that are at the coalface; I’ve got to thank the farmers.”
Winde reassured the public that the disease is not transmissible to humans.
“Of course, this is a big issue for agriculture. It’s a big issue for the animals in our province and we’ve got to protect those animals and the industry, but it’s not transmissible to humans.”
Winde said the province’s plan included quarantines, vaccinations and limiting the movement of livestock in hotspots and at the border of the province.
Carlo Petersen
www.ewn.co.za