SA's Largest Feedlot Officially Free Of Foot & Mouth - State Vet Service Lifts Quarantine

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

HEIDELBERG - The State Veterinary Service has officially and completely lifted the quarantine it placed on Karan Beef last month because it found no sign of the foot and mouth disease virus (FMD) there – it is therefore back to normal business for the country’s largest feedlot.

All tests for FMD as required by strict international protocols set by the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have been negative and there has been no indication of active viral replication, said Karan Beef veterinarian, Dr Dirk Verwoerd, at a media briefing at Karan Beef’s feedlot outside Heidelberg today. “Everything supports our earlier conclusion that we were dealing with the remnants of an exposure that happened a long time ago in northern KZN.”

This was confirmed by Dr. Malcolm de Budé, the Chief Director of Veterinary Services and Sustainable Resource Management of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “We congratulate Karan Beef for their excellent cooperation, as well as their proactive and preventative approach,” said Dr De Budé speaking at the same media briefing. “They set an example for all other feedlots in the thorough and professional way they went about in testing for any sign of foot and mouth disease. We therefore have no doubt that there is no sign of the virus and could lift the quarantine completely. This is an example of best practice disease control with close collaboration between an efficient effective veterinary service and highly professional industry player, in this case Karan Beef. Although we were lucky enough to have no active virus it could have easily been otherwise. I am convinced, however, that even had this been the case the control measures taken would have very efficiently contained the disease.”

A team of four vets from the Gauteng State Veterinary Office and Dr Verwoerd completed a range of intensive investigatory procedures, including clinical evaluations and sampling at the Karan Beef’s Heidelberg Feedlot and Balfour Abattoir on more than 2000 animals as well as blood tests done at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute since Karan Beef was placed under quarantine on March 18.

“We did all these preventative measures in full compliance and in cooperation with the state,” said Dr Verwoerd. These measures and guidelines are prescribed to by all member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – its associated scientific organisation the OIE regulates international trade in plants, animals and their products where it concerns disease risks. South Africa is signatory to the WTO.

Karan Beef, which owns and operates the largest feedlot operation on the African continent and processes cattle through its own abattoir, slaughtered a total of 1668 cattle the day after a few cattle with antibodies against FMD (indicating exposure or vaccination) were found that precipitated the quarantine measures. This was done to comprehensively sample and test them as a proactive preventative strategy to ensure the farm remained free of FMD.

The testing followed the localised outbreak of FMD in the remote Ingwavuma area in northern Kwazulu-Natal in February. Among those animals slaughtered were 93 that came from the Blood River–Vryheid area, some 150km from the officially declared FMD Control Zone. This is the closest to the FMD area that Karan Beef had purchased cattle during the past several weeks.

In addition, intensive tests were done on a further 600 “sentinels”, cattle in adjoining pens of the ones slaughtered in case there was transmission between the animals. “We bled and ‘mouthed’ them twice – just after we identified them and again last Friday, strictly according to the OIE protocols,” said Dr Verwoerd. “There was no sign of FMD in the original batch of animals, or in the sentinels. We physically inspected the mouths and tongues of each of these animals for signs of FMD and found none.”

During the quarantine period the State Veterinary Service first implemented a total quarantine, but gradually lifted some of the quarantine measures on slaughter cattle as the laboratory results became available.  That meant that Karan Beef, representing more than 30% of the grain fed beef produced in SA, could continue providing quality beef to consumers.

As the country’s largest feedlot with 120 000 head of cattle on feed at any given time, and slaughtering approximately 360 000 annually, Karan Beef has a range of standard operating procedures in place to deal with any eventuality, Dr Verwoerd said. “We believe that as a responsible producer of beef we should be proactive. In fact, as custodians of quality we constantly test for a variety of agents to ensure our cattle are in fine health. We are an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accredited organisation and the way in which we managed the FMD situation is consistent with this total commitment to quality and safety of all our products all the time.”  

FMD is a disease that can infect all cloven hoofed animals i.e. cattle, sheep, goats, pigs as well as wild antelope, wildebeest, buffalo etc. but has no effect on humans so that all products from these production animals such as dairy and meat remain as safe, healthy and wholesome as ever.

While all international trade from South Africa in cloven hoofed animals and their products have been suspended as a precautionary strategy according to international rules regarding the control of this and similar disease agents, producers of beef, mutton, pork and dairy products have taken hands with the National and Provincial Veterinary Departments in a cooperative effort to eradicate FMD as soon as possible from commercial and communal farming areas.

Issued by:             
Magna Carta Public Relations on behalf of Karan Beef.

FOR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
•    Charles Leonard on (011) 784-2598 or 082-419-1900, charles@magna-carta.co.za
•    Annemarie Truter on (011) 784-2598 or 082-520-8291, atruter@magna-carta.co.za

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