The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform has called on farmers and livestock owners to refrain from unauthorised vaccinations.

It stressed that the ministry's immediate response plan remains to contain the outbreak, prevent further transmission and protect the country's livestock industry.

“I wish to emphasise that foot-and-mouth disease is a state-controlled animal disease under the Animal Health Act. Livestock owners are therefore prohibited from vaccinating their animals against FMD themselves and must follow directives issued by the Directorate of Veterinary Services regarding vaccination. I know Namibians are very creative, and during COVID-19, many of us tried various things to protect ourselves. However, this is not the time for such practices. Please allow only officially approved vaccines administered by authorised officers to be used on affected herds and animals that have been exposed.”

The ministry also announced that they were making progress in the implementation of compulsory vaccinations in the Karasburg State Veterinary District.

“At this stage, the disease remains confined to one area, with tests around the epicenter returning negative results. This is a good indication that the disease is not spreading northward beyond the epicenter. So far, 18 units have tested positive. A unit refers to a farm, and even if only one animal tests positive, the entire farm is counted as an infected unit,” he said.

In the Zambezi Region, vaccination efforts at Kalala Island are also progressing well with no additional cases detected during the inspections.

"These animals are on the island, where 182 animals from a single holding have already been vaccinated. We have teams conducting surveillance around the island, and vaccination has now commenced outside the island to prevent the outbreak from spreading beyond it. For now, the entire Zambezi Region remains closed to the movement of animals and animal products until surveillance is completed. We aim to complete this process as quickly as possible and will keep the nation informed of our progress. We hope that the outbreak has not spread beyond the island. Once surveillance is complete and the situation has been assessed, we will consider reopening the region to allow the movement of products within the region."