WINDHOEK, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia has launched a compulsory vaccination drive in the Karasburg State Veterinary District, the epicenter of an ongoing foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, a government official announced Wednesday.
In an update, Romeo Muyunda, deputy director for public relations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, said the exercise will begin on Wednesday and run in three rounds over three months.
"Animal owners must present their animals as instructed by the District State Veterinary Office, at the time and place to be communicated by the Office," he said, noting that the campaign covers all farms south of the B3 and C10 roads up to the Orange River, plus a band of two farms north of those roads.
Veterinary officials will conduct the campaign and livestock owners are not allowed to vaccinate their animals.
To further contain the virus, Muyunda said that authorities will construct a new animal disease control fence stretching from Klein Manasse to Naute Dam and onward to the Fish River Canyon. Construction will commence after the official notification to affected landowners, in accordance with the Animal Health Act.
Surveillance figures indicate that a total of 63,011 animals have been inspected, with 131 testing positive for FMD across 18 confirmed infected farms. The outbreak in the Kharas Region remains confined to the Karasburg State Veterinary District, he highlighted.
Addressing the recent detection of FMD in the northern Zambezi Region on Oct. 11, Muyunda stressed that there is no epidemiological link between the southern outbreak in Kharas and the northern cases.
As of Oct. 13, active surveillance had detected no new clinical cases or additional lesions in the Zambezi Region since the 12 positive cases reported on Oct. 7.
"The Zambezi Region remains at high risk of FMD introduction due to the presence of resident buffalo populations in protected areas, which are known carriers of the FMD virus, as well as ongoing FMD outbreaks in neighboring countries," Muyunda said.
He said the ministry is monitoring the situation closely and urged the public and the livestock industry to report any suspected unauthorized movements of meat and meat products violating containment measures. ■