The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial government has instructed its disaster management centre to seek national approval to declare the ongoing Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) outbreak a provincial disaster.
Premier Thami Ntuli said the move would allow the province to redirect resources to combat the outbreak, which has already caused severe socio-economic impacts.
KZN, home to 2.4 million cattle, is the epicentre of the outbreak, with 207 confirmed cases and 187 unresolved outbreaks across all districts.
Ntuli confirmed that the first shipments of a nationally procured 1.5 million vaccine doses are expected to arrive within the next one to two weeks. A mass vaccination campaign will then be launched, targeting the entire provincial herd over the next six months.
“This declaration is critical to ensure that we can mobilise resources effectively and protect both our farmers and the broader agricultural sector,” Ntuli added.