The Mozambique Veterinary Authority is to import over a million doses of vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease in response to the confirmed outbreak in the districts of Chifunde, Maravia, and Moatize, in the central province of Tete.
The acquisition of the vaccines, to be administered to about 500,000 cattle in high-risk areas, comes at a time when South Africa is dealing with an outbreak of the O strain of the foot-and-mouth disease.
Of the total vaccines being imported, 450,000 are bivalent to respond to the outbreak of the O and SAT 2 strains, while the rest should protect animals from the SAT 1, 2 and 3 viral forms.
The National Director of Livestock Development (DNDP), Americo da Conceicao, quoted by the Maputo daily "Noticias", said the administrative process is concluded and the vaccines are expected to be delivered to the country in the next few days.
"We are acquiring one million vaccines from Botswana in response to the outbreak of the disease, which so far remains confined to some districts of Tete province", he said, adding that, for this purpose, over US$2 million has been disbursed from the State Budget.
The distribution of the vaccines will take into account the vulnerability of regions to foot and mouth disease, focusing on the border districts of the southern provinces of Maputo and Gaza; Manica, Tete and Zambezia (in the central zone) and Niassa (in the north).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is evaluating the possibility of strengthening surveillance measures and control of beef imports and derivatives from South Africa, due to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the neighbouring country. South Africa has just banned the movement of livestock throughout its territory for 21 days due to the progressive spread of the disease. So far, 116 outbreaks have been confirmed on farms, feedlots, and communal areas in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Free State provinces.
In recent months the disease has spread in the southern African region, with confirmed cases in Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, and Mozambique.
