South Africa: Steenhuisen to Kickstart Nationwide Mass Vaccination Against FMD

25 February 2026
SAnews.gov.za (Tshwane)

Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen, will this Friday officially kickstart the nationwide mass vaccination rollout against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in KwaZulu-Natal.

The high-priority intervention follows the arrival of one million high-potency vaccine doses from Biogénesis Bagó, Argentina, on Saturday.

"As the largest single consignment of FMD vaccines ever to enter South Africa, the shipment marks the operational "kickstart" of the Department of Agriculture's new 10-Year Strategic Plan to vaccinate the national herd," said the department.

The department reported that millions of additional doses of the FMD vaccine have been procured and are expected to arrive in the country soon.

"The vaccination process is strategically phased starting with mass vaccination in the highest-risk areas and then moving to lower-risk areas," the department said in a statement.

The rollout will take place at Colbourne Dairy Farm near Mooi River in the uMngeni Municipality.

Read the original article on SAnews.gov.za.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 SAnews.gov.za. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.