Bluetongue disease putting farmers, meat supply at risk

MUHAMMAD Lockhat lost 60 sheep in the past two months due to the shortage of vaccines for bluetongue disease. He fears this could affect his livelihood.

The Red Meat Producers Organization says there has been a bluetongue outbreak in the country, which can cause up to 50% mortality among herds if they are not vaccinated.

Bluetongue disease is a non-contagious, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants, affecting mainly sheep. The symptoms include high fever, salivation and swelling of the face and tongue. In some cases, the tongue turns blue.

The organisation says the shortage of vaccines for sheep, as well as for cattle and horses, could have long-term effects on food supply.

Lockhat, 34, from Dundee, has been a cattle farmer for four years and a sheep farmer for a year. He has 196 animals.

“We have experienced this disease in high numbers over the past two months. I have lost 20 ewes and 40 lambs. We are struggling with getting the vaccines in our local agricultural stores. This has led to unvaccinated animals and multiple deaths,” said Lockhat.

“If cattle or sheep are not vaccinated against certain diseases, it leads to mortality and the reduction in production. It’s a setback that I will never recover from. Every female lamb is kept back to replace an old sheep.

“Once a cycle is broken, it’s very hard to get back on track.”

James Faber, 55, a large-scale cattle farmer from Kimberley, said the shortage would have long-term effects on meat supply.

“Apart from our imported vaccines, we are in trouble. It is mainly for our African diseases that the vaccines are being manufactured here and it is detrimental if we don’t have vaccines,” said Faber, who is also the chairperson of the Red Meat Producers Organization.

“With bluetongue specifically, I have inoculated my animals this year. But I need vaccines for mosquito-borne diseases, which need to be administered in winter as the problems start in summer with the rain. If I do not get vaccines by August, there are going to be problems with my cattle getting infected.”

Faber, who has been in the business with his brother for 30 years, said food supply was under control but he was concerned about the long term.

“If we start losing cows now, there is a question of where will the next set of newborns come from. If we lose our breeding herd, in two years, we will see a shortage. The same principle applied during drought. We had to slaughter a lot of our breeders and we did not have enough breeders in the end.”

Faber said another challenge was the export market.

“We do not have disease-free areas in the country… There is also talk that there will be another drought.”

DearSA, a non-profit advocacy group, said the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), a state-owned enterprise specialising in livestock vaccine development, was to blame for the vaccine crisis.

Gideon Joubert, the CEO of DearSA, said the OBP suffered from decades of maladministration and the inability to hire competent staff. That, he said, had led to the decline in vaccines.

“Despite government funding allocation, lack of maintenance has caused permanent breakdowns in the laboratory infrastructure. Additionally, increased red tape in importing vaccines further hampers meat production in South Africa.

“Since taxpayers funded the development of vaccines, they should be considered public property, and capable private manufacturers should be granted licences to import or manufacture crucial vaccines.”

Christo van der Rheede, the CEO of Agri SA, said: “The South African agricultural sector faces many urgent challenges, but biosecurity must be recognised as one of the most pressing. With the report on the true state of biosecurity now made public, we have no time to waste in addressing the challenges it identifies. South Africa’s food security depends on it.”

Noko Masipa, the DA spokesperson for agriculture, land reform and rural Development, has submitted a petition with about 11 000 signatures to Parliament. He said Thoko Didiza, the minister of agriculture, must release the OBP vaccine strains to the private sector to assist in producing vaccines.

“The livestock industry is going through a difficult time, largely as a result of the shortage of vaccines. Almost every day, videos and pictures of dying horses are circulating and farmers are calling for help, with no success.”

Ivan Meyer, Western Cape Provincial Minister for Agriculture, said the province accounted for more than half the country’s agricultural exports, with the livestock sector accounting for almost 50%.

He asked for licences and permits to be granted for vaccines to be imported.

“International markets have put stringent requirements in place that must be met before export products are permitted to land. Disease management with vaccinations plays a crucial role in the attainment of those requirements. The unavailability of vaccines will harm the export of livestock and related products into crucial international markets.”

Didiza recently released a report on animal biosecurity. A task team was appointed to deal with animal biosecurity and the role of the state. One of the report’s key recommendations was to establish a national database for animal health and disease information.

The report said it would enable farmers and producers to track and monitor their animals’ health status and identify and respond to disease outbreaks.

Other recommendations include establishing quarantine facilities at livestock auctions and abattoirs, as well as implementing strict hygiene protocols.

At a media briefing at the OBP offices on Thursday, Luvuyo Madumo, the interim CEO, said vaccine availability was increasing since the start of the year and in the past few years, they had been dealing with the breakdown of manufacturing equipment.

“Last year was difficult because equipment broke down in 2020, which pushed costs up. We normally manufacture it in Spain and the owners are in France, so fixing the equipment takes time and is expensive.”

Madumo said animal vaccines that were available for distribution were for, amongst others: pasteurella in sheep, and for anthrax and black quarter in cattle, sheep and goats.

He said more vaccines were in production and were expected to be available between June and August.

Those included, among others, bluetongue virus vaccines, B.phemeral vaccine for bovine fever in cattle, chlamysure vaccines for cattle, and the African horse sickness vaccine.