South Africa is still waiting months for critical laboratory results to determine which strains of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) are circulating across the country. Farmers and decision-makers are operating without this vital information, even though the Ministerial Task Team has identified testing as the single biggest bottleneck in the entire response.
This situation is becoming increasingly problematic. Not all FMD vaccines work against all strains (SAT1, SAT2, SAT3). Without knowing exactly which strain is present in each area, there is no certainty that the vaccines being used will actually protect the animals. Many farmers who received the Biogénesis Bagó bivalent vaccine (covering SAT1 and SAT2) are now uncertain whether their herds are protected.A significant portion — roughly 40% — of the doses already deployed come from this same vaccine, leaving large numbers of farmers vaccinated but unsure of their level of protection.
Despite laboratories being overwhelmed and results severely delayed, the current system continues to test every herd before vaccination, often sampling 30 animals per herd. This approach creates more work but delivers little practical value for controlling the outbreak. It does not identify circulating strains, track how the disease is spreading, or confirm whether vaccination is working.
Other countries dealing with FMD focus testing on what actually helps control the disease, rather than testing everything. South Africa has additional laboratory capacity in universities and provincial facilities that is not being fully utilised.The current system is overloaded by design.
Delayed strain identification risks using the wrong vaccine, delayed results slow down containment, and every unnecessary test further clogs the laboratories.Testing should serve disease control — not slow it down.
Four weeks after the war in the Middle East began disrupting global supply chains, South African farmers are still asking a simple but critical question: Is the vaccination campaign against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) going according to plan?The short answer is: progress has been made, but it is slower and more limited than many hoped.Since the beginning of the intensified response in February 2026, more than 1.7 million animals had been vaccinated by late March. This includes the first local ARC doses (12,900 in February) and large imported consignments from Biogénesis Bagó (Argentina) and Dollvet (Turkey).
On the positive side, private sector involvement has increased. The Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO) in KwaZulu-Natal rolled out 50,000 doses at its own cost, and Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) has purchased and distributed hundreds of thousands of doses for its members. Dozens of private veterinarians have also been authorised to administer vaccines.
However, serious challenges remain. Many farmers, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, report that large numbers of dairy cattle still have not received their first dose. In some districts, only buffer-zone farms were initially prioritised, forcing producers to share limited doses among themselves. There are also ongoing questions about whether the vaccines match the specific strains circulating in each area, as strain identification results are still delayed by months.
Minister John Steenhuisen has committed to gazetting the Article 10 scheme on 17 April to allow greater private-sector participation under a regulated framework. Veterinary associations (SAVA and RuVASA) have withdrawn some earlier objections and indicated willingness to cooperate.
There has been visible improvement in vaccine availability and private-sector involvement compared to the start of the year. However, the rollout is still uneven, strain identification is badly delayed, and the overall pace remains too slow for many farmers facing active outbreaks. The campaign is moving forward, but it is not yet going fully according to the scale and urgency required to bring the disease under control.Farmers continue to bear the economic and emotional burden while waiting for faster, more effective action on the ground.
Until the system delivers timely, relevant results, critical decisions are being made in the dark, giving the virus more time to spread.The core problem is clear: the disease has evolved, but the testing and control strategy has not.
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