WINDHOEK, Oct. 21– Namibia will meet livestock farmers and other stakeholders this week to coordinate efforts to contain foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the southern Kharas Region.
The outbreak remains confined to the Karasburg State Veterinary District, with 131 positive cases recorded so far, Romeo Muyunda, deputy director for public relations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, said Wednesday. “The ministry emphasizes that effective disease control requires the active participation and cooperation of all stakeholders,” he said.
State veterinary officials are expected to hold the sessions in the Kharas Region from Thursday to Saturday to provide updates on the outbreak, explain the control measures being implemented, and engage farmers and other stakeholders on interventions to support the recovery of livestock marketing and market access, Muyunda said.
Disease control operations, including active surveillance, movement restrictions and compulsory vaccination, are underway in both the Kharas and Zambezi regions, he said. In the Zambezi Region, authorities have not reported any new FMD cases outside the designated disease management area, and they are continuing active surveillance, Muyunda said.
Namibia confirmed FMD at a commercial farm in the Karasburg State Veterinary District on Sept. 23, inside its FMD-free zone recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). The disease was later detected in the northeastern Zambezi Region, which authorities said has no epidemiological link to the southern outbreak.
Following the outbreak, the WOAH suspended Namibia’s FMD-free status for the affected zone, while the European Union, which takes more than 80 percent of Namibia’s beef exports, temporarily suspended imports of fresh beef, sheep and goat meat from the country. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
