New foot and mouth disease outbreak confirmed in Free State
Image: File
The Department of Agriculture has confirmed a new outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on a commercial farm in the Free State.
IOL previously reported that the country has been battling FMD for several months, prompting key trading partners, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, and China, to suspend imports of meat and related animal products from the country.
The affected farm is located in the Moqhaka Local Municipality near Kroonstad and has been placed under quarantine as officials work to contain the spread.
In a statement issued to the media on Monday, the department emphasised that the affected properties were placed under quarantine on July 8, 2025, and immediate control measures were implemented.
"The affected property was placed under quarantine on 8 July 2025, and immediate control measures were implemented, including surveillance and vaccination," the department said.
"Traceback activities are ongoing to determine the source of the infection, while farms in the surrounding 10-km radius are undergoing surveillance to determine the possible extent of the spread".
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According to the department, as of July 2025, a total of 270 FMD outbreaks have been reported across five provinces in South Africa. Of these, 249 outbreaks remain unresolved, while 21 have undergone resolution.
"Eastern Cape has recorded 40 outbreaks, with 38 still open and two resolved. There have been no new reported cases in the Eastern Cape since September 2024. KwaZulu-Natal has been the most affected province, with 191 reported outbreaks, of which 172 remain active and 19 have been resolved.
"Since May 2025, Gauteng has reported 32 outbreaks, North West has four open outbreaks, while Mpumalanga has reported three outbreaks."
The Department has also issued a correction to a recent Government Gazette notice regarding the Disease Management Area (DMA) in KwaZulu-Natal.
The new notice (Gazette Notice 6396 of 4 July 2025) replaces the previous notice (Gazette Notice 5997 of 17 March 2025) and corrects the omission of several areas that remain under DMA restrictions.
"We sincerely apologise for any confusion caused and request all stakeholders to take note of the following areas that are declared to be part of the KwaZulu-Natal DMA:"
These include the whole of the following local municipalities: Big Five Hlabisa, Mtubatuba, Nongoma, Ulundi, Umhlabuyalingana, Jozini, Pongola, Abaqulusi, Umfolozi, uMhlathuze, Mthonjaneni, Nqutu, Nkandla, uMlalazi, and Mandeni.
Also included are portions of the following municipalities: Emadlangeni (south of R34 from R33), Newcastle (south of R34 and east of N11), Dannhauser (east of N11 and north of R68), Endumeni (north of R68 and east of R33), Msinga (east of R33), UMvoti (east of R33 up to R74 and north of R74), Maphumulo (north-east of R74), Ndwedwe (east of R74), and KwaDukuza (north-east of R74 up to the N2 and west to the N2 up to Mandeni).
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