CAPE TOWN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- South Africa has received an additional shipment of two million doses of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine as the country seeks to rein in outbreaks reported across all nine provinces.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture stated that the doses were received from Dollvet Biotechnology in Turkey and would be distributed to the provinces within the next few days.
The shipment is the first tranche of a total of six-million-dose order placed with Dollvet through their local agents, Dunevax.
The department said an additional order for five million doses has been placed with Argentina-based company Biogenesis Bago through Onderstepoort Biological Products.
The consignment will arrive in two batches, 3.5 million and 1.5 million doses, as soon as it receives import approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.
Last week, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen said over two million animals had been vaccinated from February to March 26, as part of the national mass vaccination drive to contain the outbreak and protect the national herd.
In the statement, Steenhuisen said the department has procured all matched vaccines currently available on the international market and has secured steady access to supply.
"We will push forward to make sure that we achieve our goal -- vaccinate the national herd to achieve World Organization of Animal Health recognition of FMD-free status with vaccination. This will allow us to access international markets for South African red meat that have been closed for decades due to FMD," he added. ■