State veterinarians in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have confirmed an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in the Middleburg and Hofmeyer areas where 20 lambs and 200 sheep have died respectively.
Following this outbreak state veterinarians have visited the affected farms and their neighbours where more samples were taken and sheep and goats were vaccinated.
A total of 5 935 pregnant ewes were vaccinated in the following commercial farms, Grootdam (1 675), Beaconsfiled (1 000), Blaauwskop (310), Hillston (500), Helpmaker (1 700), Fortuinplaas (600) and Wolwekop (150). A total of 353 sheep and 88 goats in Middleburg have commonage have been vaccinated while in Hofmeyer 154 sheep and 300 goats were vaccinated. Blanket vaccination will take place in Hofmeyer and Middleburg commonages, positive farms and contact farms.
The department has since issued a veterinary quarantine notice to the affected area, which states that the livestock (sheep, goats and cattle) may not be permitted to be moved from the farms expect those authorised by a written permit from a state veterinarian.
The notices were sent to private veterinarians and organised farmers associations and unions as well as all farmers in the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality. The following control measures must also be applied:
- Vaccination of all susceptible stock under supervision of a veterinary official using a new needle for each animal
- Immediate notification of all mortalities, abortions and illness to local animal health technicians or state veterinarian
- Carcasses, foetuses or products may not be destroyed or tampered with unless authorised by state vets
- Carcasses must be disposed of by burning or burying
- Precautions must be taken when handling sick animals, foetuses or carcasses. Minimum protective clothing should include gloves, goggles, overalls and boots
- Additional control measures should include weekly spraying of stock with fly and mosquito control remedy, moving of animals away from standing water and moving of animals to high altitude areas.
Meanwhile, game culling will continue under the conditions of published
Veterinary Procedure Notice for game export which states that the area should be free of disease for 60 days and the 10 kilometres radius away from affected area to be implemented.
According to veterinarians, the Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis endemic to Africa, which primarily affects animals but has the capacity to affect humans.
RVF causes large epizootics with high mortality rates in young animals and abortions of pregnancies in ruminants. The epizootics typically occur following periods of heavy rainfall that promote the hatching of mosquito eggs carrying the RVF virus. RVF outbreaks in South Africa have always been associated with above average rainfall at irregular intervals of 5 to 15 years. Symptoms of infected animals include but not limited to high lamb, kid or calf mortality, abortions, icterus, bloody diarrhoea, nose bleeding, fever and deaths.
The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes mainly Aedes, Culex and Anopheles spp. According to Wikipedia, the free internet encyclopaedia in humans the virus can cause several different syndromes and have either no symptoms or only a mild illness with fever, headache, painful muscle and joints and vomiting. The vast majority of human infections result from direct or indirect contact with the blood or organs of infected animals.
The virus can be transmitted to humans through the handling of animal tissue during slaughtering or butchering, assisting with animal births, conducting veterinary procedures, or from the disposal of carcasses or foetuses.
For more information contact:
Yvonne Matsheketwa
Cell: 076 868 7257
