Botswana has suspected outbreak of FMD

SOUTH Africa has imposed an import ban on cloven-hoofed animals and their products from Botswana after a suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease there, the Department of Agriculture said on Friday.

“Laboratory confirmation of the disease outbreak has not been received yet by the Botswana veterinary authorities,” a statement said. Beef is Botswana’s second largest export earner after mining, with much of the production exported to South Africa and western Europe.The suspected outbreak occurred about 45 km from the South African border near the area where Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe converge.”Surveillance will be conducted by veterinary officials on farms along the border with Botswana to ensure that South Africa is not affected by this disease outbreak,” the statement added.The Limpopo River acts as a natural barrier between the two countries and will make control easier, it added.The highly contagious disease does not harm humans but it causes fevers and interferes with reproduction in cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and deer.The Deputy Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Dr Cleophas Bamhare, told The Namibian on Friday that they had not received anything formal on the outbreak but had discussed the issue with their Botswana counterparts.He said movement restrictions could not be enforced until Namibia received a full complete report from Botswana, which he said was currently carrying out tests on the disease outbreak suspicions.- Nampa-Reuters, Own ReporterBeef is Botswana’s second largest export earner after mining, with much of the production exported to South Africa and western Europe.The suspected outbreak occurred about 45 km from the South African border near the area where Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe converge.”Surveillance will be conducted by veterinary officials on farms along the border with Botswana to ensure that South Africa is not affected by this disease outbreak,” the statement added.The Limpopo River acts as a natural barrier between the two countries and will make control easier, it added.The highly contagious disease does not harm humans but it causes fevers and interferes with reproduction in cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and deer.The Deputy Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Dr Cleophas Bamhare, told The Namibian on Friday that they had not received anything formal on the outbreak but had discussed the issue with their Botswana counterparts.He said movement restrictions could not be enforced until Namibia received a full complete report from Botswana, which he said was currently carrying out tests on the disease outbreak suspicions.- Nampa-Reuters, Own Reporter