Staff Reporter
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform says all confirmed Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) cases remain confined to the Karasburg State Veterinary District in the //Kharas Region, with 17 of 199 samples collected during intensified surveillance testing positive for the virus.
Acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Dr Charles Mubita said on Saturday that traceability investigations had identified four cattle that had moved from the infected farm in Karasburg to the Otjozondjupa Region, but all samples collected from the cattle and other animals tested negative.
The four cattle formed part of 30 samples collected on 24 September, including an additional 26 cattle tested as a precaution. Mubita said the 26 cattle were residential animals and were not connected to the origin of the infected farm.
“The outcome of the traceability revealed that there were four cattle that moved from the infected farm in Karasburg district to Otjozondjupa region,” Mubita said.
He said the 30 samples collected from the four cattle and the additional animals all returned negative results.
Mubita said 199 samples were collected between 22 and 25 September as part of routine and intensified surveillance in several areas, including Windhoek, Gobabis, Otjiwarongo and Ondangwa.
Of the 199 samples, 17 tested positive, with all positive cases coming from the Karasburg State Veterinary District.
“So far, all positive cases remain confined to Karasburg State Veterinary District,” Mubita said.
He said the 65 cattle on the infected farm, as well as other animals in the immediate surroundings, remain under strict monitoring as a precautionary measure.
The Ministry has mobilised veterinary officers from various offices across the country, including both public and private-sector veterinarians, to intensify traceability, clinical examinations and sample collection.
Mubita said the exercise was aimed at determining the extent of the infection and would inform decisions on when and where the restrictions imposed on 23 September could gradually be eased.
“An announcement is envisaged to be made as soon as the above results are made available,” he said.
He added that the analysis of traceability data from the infected farm and surrounding areas was only partially complete, as the 14-day incubation period was still ongoing.
Surveillance will therefore continue, with the Ministry expected to announce the lifting of restrictions in certain areas through Veterinary Public Notices once sufficient information becomes available.
FMD was first detected in Namibia’s WOAH-recognised FMD-free zone after 10 of 11 samples collected from cattle showing clinical signs at a commercial farm in the Karasburg State Veterinary District tested positive.
Mubita said FMD is a notifiable and state-controlled disease under the Animal Health Act, No. 1 of 2011, and that the outbreak could have severe economic consequences by disrupting the livestock value chain, marketing, food security and rural livelihoods.
Following the detection, the Ministry activated the FMD Contingency Plan and imposed restrictions on the movement of cloven-hoofed animals and their raw products across the country.
Mubita said the Ministry, with support from the livestock industry, had also established an FMD Support Fund to mobilise resources to strengthen the response to the outbreak.
He appealed to the public, private sector and development partners to contribute to the fund.
Contributions can be made through the following accounts:
First National Bank, Windhoek Corporate Centre Branch: 281872, Account: 642-901-99172.
Bank Windhoek, Kudu Branch: 482, Account: 805-256-1959.
For contributions and further information, the Ministry said Dr Ingrid Henckert-Weissnar can be contacted on 081 127 6161.
Mubita called on Namibians to cooperate with veterinary authorities while surveillance and traceability activities continue.
“The Ministry undertakes to continue updating the public and the nation at large from time to time, as soon as there are new developments on this critical situation,” he said.
Photo: MICT
