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afrol.com / AENS, 29 November - The foot and mouth outbreak in Mpumalanga this week is believed to have been caused by cattle imported from a neighbouring country, local agriculturalists said. An emergency response team of State veterinarians has already been deployed to Kanhym Estate 20km east of Middelburg. The emergency response team is there to access the extent of the outbreak, while army commandos, regular troops and police prepare to enforce a quarantine in the area. Forensic veterinary tests confirmed on Tuesday that some of the 10 000 cattle corralled in Kanhym's feedlot were definitely infected with foot and mouth. The estate's 54,000 pigs, which are usually more susceptible to the disease than cattle, have all tested disease free so far. The outbreak comes just weeks after authorities were forced to slaughter thousands of animals and quarantine a 20 000 square kilometre zone in KwaZulu Natal in an increasingly desperate attempt to contain South Africa's first outbreak of foot and mouth in 44 years. The KwaZulu Natal outbreak, which was caused by a tainted shipment of pigswill to a Camperdown piggery three months ago, has prompted scores of international bans and partial bans on South African meat products. Agri-Mpumalanga president Lourie Bosman confirmed on Thursday that initial investigations indicated that the second outbreak near Middelburg was caused by the importation of an infected animal from beyond South Africa's "red line". The red line designates the country's disease free regions and includes all stock and other agricultural areas, with the exception of the Kruger National Park. Bosman stressed that the Mpumalanga outbreak was caused by a different strain of the disease to that plaguing KwaZulu Natal, but said it was not the endemic strain found in the Kruger Park. "Look it's all rumours at the moment, but the two main theories are that an infected animal from Mozambique or Namibia caused the outbreak," said Bosman. Kanhym buys calves and other young cattle from farmers across the region for its Middelburg feedlot, where it fattens the animals for slaughter in Swaziland. Inspectors at Swaziland's SMI abattoir, who spotted telltale sores on slaughtered cattle's mouths and tongues, reported the first infected cattle. Bosman said foot and mouth was highly contagious and was transmitted by bodily contact. "Feedlot animals are kept in very close proximity to each other in pens, and so this kind of disease can sweep through an entire feedlot very quickly," he said. Mpumalanga currently accounts for 13 percent of South Africa's entire beef and other cattle meat product industry, earning R390 million per year. The provincial pig farming industry generates roughly R14 million per year and contributes three percent to the national pork industry. Bosman and government officials stressed that rapid response teams were already on the scene and that Kanhym and three adjourning farms had already been quarantined for three days. "We're handling this very differently to KwaZulu-Natal. We've learnt from the mistakes there, and organised agriculture has already stepped in with strict control measures to prevent any movement of animals anywhere in the district," said Bosman. Pointing out that Mpumalanga's cattle industry comprised large commercial farmers who were easier to police that the hundreds of no small communal farmers in Camperdown, Bosman confirmed that no cattle had been destroyed yet. "We're initially inoculating all 10 000 cattle on Kanhym and those on the adjourning Azul and SIS farms. We'll decide whether to destroy them later, once the vets have a clearer idea of the extent of the problem," he added. Veterinarian team leader, Dr Paul Kloeck, was not immediately available for comment but Kanhym spokesman Dina Groenewald confirmed that a large contingent of vets and other specialists had been on the farm since Wednesday. Police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Theo du Bruyn, said police were already helping vets reach all farmers in the area and were putting emergency contingency plans in place for roadblocks and quarantine cordons. The South African National Defence Force's (SANDF) Group 12 operational unit also confirmed it was preparing for rapid deployment to the area. South Africa's agriculture minister, Thoko Didza, is expected to make a detailed public statement about the outbreak on Thursday afternoon after a planning meeting with police and army.
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