FMD to take two years to eliminate

Namibia to submit FMD-free zone bid by year end Namibia could take up to two years to eliminate foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from a proposed containment zone, where authorities would work to prevent the disease from spreading to other parts of the country. This is according to the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia executive for quality assurance Anja Boshoff. Boshoff says the proposed zone would allow areas outside the affected area to regain their FMD-free status while veterinary authorities continue fighting the disease within the zone. “We have two years from the time this containment zone is declared and approved by the World Organisation for Animal Health to clean it up,” she said during a panel discussion with industry experts on Namibia’s FMD outbreak on Tuesday night.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) suspended Namibia’s FMD-free status on 22 September following the detection of the disease in the country’s previously FMD-free zone. Namibia confirmed the outbreak in the ||Kharas region on 23 September. According to the WOAH, a containment zone allows a country to restrict an outbreak to a specific area while working to restore the disease-free status of unaffected areas. Boshoff said Namibia must provide evidence that the disease has been contained before areas outside the proposed zone can regain their previous status. She said the infected area is where veterinary officials have confirmed positive cases and where vaccination will take place, while a buffer zone would separate the vaccination area from a proposed new veterinary cordon fence. Animals in the infected area will receive vaccines to help protect them against the virus and those in the buffer zone will not be vaccinated. RACE TO VACCINATE Earlier this month,…