Industry Update — 6 March 2026

As the vaccination rollout continues, growing uncertainty is escalating frustration on the ground. Producers want clear answers and practical guidance.

The FMD ICC is taking these issues directly to the relevant authorities and making the industry’s position clear on how they can be addressed. We will share verified information as it becomes available.

Our goal is to help control Foot-and-Mouth Disease through a faster, scalable response that protects South Africa’s livestock industry and the livelihoods of millions who depend on it.

FMD ICC Priorities for Engagement with Government

1. Alignment between national and provincial response measures.
2. National dashboard for progress reporting of vaccine rollout per province.
3. A single official channel for documentation and communication.
4. Prioritised producer awareness and practical guidance on FMD.

Vaccines — what you need to know

Confirmed by Prof. Francois Maree (Virologist, University of Pretoria and MTT member).

Mixing different FMD vaccines is safe

• Mixing different types of inactivated FMD vaccines is safe, not harmful to animals, and does not reduce protection.
• For example: if your cattle were first vaccinated with BVI, they can safely be vaccinated with Dollvet or Biogénesis Bagó as part of the follow-up strategy.
• This approach is known as a heterologous prime-boost (“mix and match”) vaccination strategy.

Heterologous prime-boost can be a good vaccination strategy

• All vaccines contain the same basic FMD virus antigens (such as SAT1, SAT2 and SAT3), even if the exact strains differ slightly.
• This means the animal’s immune system recognises the different antigens and gives a stronger and quicker response when vaccinated with a different formulation.
• Research suggests that using different formulations can strengthen and broaden the immune response, often resulting in better protection against virus variation in the field.

Mixing FMD vaccines with other vaccines is safe

• It is safe to give FMD vaccines on the same day as other vaccines such as anthrax or E. coli.
• Studies show that this does not interfere with the effectiveness of the FMD vaccine.

Best practice

• Do not mix different vaccines in the same syringe or needle, because different vaccine bases (oil and water) can interact if mixed.
• If animals receive more than one vaccine on the same day:
  • Inject one vaccine on one side of the animal.
  • Inject the FMD vaccine on the opposite side.
  • This helps reduce local reactions and makes it easier to identify the cause if swelling occurs.
• As with any vaccination programme, animals should be monitored for any adverse reactions.

Minister announces government is footing the bill for FMD vaccination — what it means in practice

Yesterday the Minister of Agriculture confirmed that government will cover the full cost of vaccinating the national herd against FMD, and that there will be no cost to farmers for vaccines administered as part of the national response to the FMD outbreaks.

The FMD ICC wants to clarify for producers what this means in practice, so that you have a clear understanding of the options available to you.

The government’s rollout strategy is currently focused on active outbreak areas, where vaccination is carried out by provincial veterinary services using government-procured vaccines. In these cases, producers do not pay for the vaccine.

If you are in an active outbreak area but want your herd vaccinated as soon as possible, you can contact an authorised private veterinarian to vaccinate your herd. The vaccine is paid for by government, but you will need to pay the private veterinarian’s service fee.

If your herd currently falls outside these priority areas but you want to manage your risk as soon as possible through vaccination, this can be done — but you pay for vaccine and the private veterinarian’s service fee.

We welcome this announcement by the Minister, but our position remains that speed should be the priority. If capacity constraints are the reason for the current rollout strategy, we reiterate that industry has the operational capacity to help speed up and expand the rollout.

Important notices and updates

Traceability — tagging of vaccinated animals

Purchase of RFID tags is not required. Each animal must simply have a unique identification number that is clearly displayed and traceable. Refer to the 27 February 2026 update.

Application and indemnity forms

Although this document was retracted by the DDG on Monday, certain provinces are still using it.

KZN DMA

No new information since the last update.

The FMD Management Plan (Contingency Plan)

No new information since the last update — still under MTT review.

National rollout plan

No new information since the last update. Dollvet vaccines have been transferred to OBP.

Section 9 — movement permits

Still under review, to be finalised this week.

Section 10 — formal approval process enabling specific FMD control actions under the law

Still under review, to be finalised this week.

Section 21 / SAHPRA

Prof. Francois Maree (Virologist, University of Pretoria and MTT member) evaluated the Dollvet vaccine against European vaccine-producing criteria and confirmed that it passed on every point.