Johannesburg, Feb 7 (IANS) South Africa has released its first locally produced vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in nearly two decades, the country's Department of Agriculture said.

At a press briefing, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, together with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), the vaccine developer and producer, announced the release of an initial batch of 12,900 vaccine doses, with production expected to rise to 20,000 doses per week by March.

The ARC said plans are being prepared to distribute the vaccine to herds across the country.

According to a statement from the department, the milestone marks a shift from a largely reactive response to a more proactive, science-led campaign against the disease, to help South Africa regain its FMD-free status from the World Organisation for Animal Health.

"This will strengthen our frontline defence against foot-and-mouth disease," Steenhuisen said, noting that the country's long-term goal is to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers for the FMD vaccine, Xinhua news agency reported.

The FMD primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. In most cases, the symptoms include fever, painful sores in the mouth, and a rash with blisters on the hands, feet, and buttocks.

FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that has a significant economic impact.

The disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants.

Intensively reared animals are more susceptible to the disease than traditional breeds. The disease is rarely fatal in adult animals, but there is often high mortality in young animals due to myocarditis or, when the dam is infected by the disease, lack of milk.

FMD is characterised by fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves. The disease causes severe production losses, and, while the majority of affected animals recover, the disease often leaves them weakened and debilitated.

All seven of the serotypes have also been found in wildlife. African buffalo are important carriers for FMDV. Other species of wildlife do not seem to be able to maintain FMD viruses.

--IANS

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