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Message: [QUOTE="Queen, post: 87411, member: 27"] A massive vaccination blitz targeting 70,000 fresh doses is Gauteng's biggest weapon yet against a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that has already hit 228 farms. Gauteng FMD cases keep climbing [LIST] [*]Confirmed outbreaks in Gauteng jumped from 173 in late January to 228. [*]MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa says the spike reflects ramped-up surveillance, not runaway spread. [*]Every single affected farm is under strict quarantine protocols. [*]The disease hammers milk production and causes brutal economic losses for farmers. [/LIST] Vaccination rollout is in full swing [LIST] [*]Gauteng scored 70,000 doses from a national batch of one million Argentine-imported vaccines. [*]Over 268,000 doses have already been administered across the province. [*]Farms near buffalo populations get top priority since those animals carry the virus. [*]Communal grazing areas and dairy farms near infection zones are next in line. [/LIST] The national outbreak has been devastating [LIST] [*]Over 297,000 animals have been affected since the outbreak kicked off in 2021. [*]Nearly 129,000 were humanely slaughtered at designated facilities to curb the spread. [*]Eight out of nine South African provinces have reported confirmed cases. [*]KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Free State, and North West got hit the hardest. [/LIST] South Africa's long-term FMD strategy is shifting [LIST] [*]The national government adopted an FMD-free-with-vaccination approach going forward. [*]Extra vaccine supply from Botswana is supplementing the Argentine imports. [*]Local production at the Agricultural Research Council and Onderstepoort is in the pipeline. [*]Full disease-free status without vaccination remains the eventual goal. [/LIST] Farmers face strict rules and delayed compensation [LIST] [*]Movement controls, vehicle disinfection, and immediate illness reporting are mandatory. [*]Compensation for culled livestock gets pushed to after the crisis stabilizes. [*]More designated abattoirs for FMD-positive animals are being explored. [*]Small-scale and communal farmers are getting extra outreach and vaccine access. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]

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