A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has been reported in the Free State, the agriculture department said on Monday.
The outbreak was confirmed last Thursday on a commercial farm in the Moqhaka municipality in the Kroonstad state veterinary area, the department said.
Agriculture ministry spokesperson Joylene van Wyk said the affected property was placed under quarantine on July 8 and immediate control measures were implemented, including surveillance and vaccination.
“Trace-back activities are ongoing to determine the source of the infection, while farms in the surrounding 10km radius are undergoing surveillance to determine the possible extent of the spread,” Van Wyk said.
She confirmed that 270 outbreaks had been reported across five provinces by July, with 21 resolved and 249 unresolved.
“The Eastern Cape has recorded 40 outbreaks, with 38 still open and two resolved. There have been no new reported cases in the Western Cape since September 2024.
“KwaZulu-Natal has been the most affected province, with 191 reported outbreaks, of which 172 remain active and 19 have been resolved. Since May, Gauteng has reported 32 outbreaks, North West has four open outbreaks, while Mpumalanga has reported three outbreaks,” she said.
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