FOLLOWING the outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in cattle in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the North-West, Gauteng and Free State, there is a high risk of spreading the disease to other parts of the country through the movement of cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals.
For this reason, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture is cautioning farmers about the risk of buying livestock of unknown origin.
According to State Veterinarian Dr Vivien Malan, animals can spread the disease without showing any clinical signs of it, because they shed the virus before any signs of the disease can be seen.
Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock, including cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. The virus is found in all body fluids, such as saliva, urine, faeces, milk…