South Africa produces first locally manufactured foot-and-mouth vaccine in 20 years

South Africa has achieved a milestone in its fight against foot-and-mouth disease with the release of the first locally manufactured vaccine in nearly two decades.

The Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort facility produced the initial batch of 12 900 doses, with production set to scale up to 20 000 doses weekly by March.

Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen described the achievement as crucial for the country’s biosecurity strategy.

“This vaccine will ensure South Africa’s vaccine sovereignty in dealing with foot-and-mouth disease. Never again will we have to, unless we’re required to for the sake of volume, go to other countries to rely on the vaccine,” he said.

High-potency vaccine exceeds global standards

Dr Faith Peta, who leads the vaccine production unit, explained that the vaccine significantly surpasses World Organisation for Animal Health requirements.

“The WHO regulatory requirement for potency of vaccines, especially for prophylaxis, is three PD50. Ours is over that. It goes up to twenty-two,” she said, adding that a normal two-millilitre dose provides protection for up to a year.

The multivalent vaccine has been specifically tailored to combat foot-and-mouth disease strains circulating in Southern Africa, developed through rigorous testing at the council’s high-containment Transboundary Animal Disease Laboratory.

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National vaccination campaign targets outbreak control

The vaccine release supports a broader national vaccination strategy to inoculate 80% of targeted herds and reduce disease incidence by 70% within 12 months.

Steenhuisen outlined the government’s long-term vision to achieve disease-free status without vaccination within 10 years.

“We would like to be foot-and-mouth disease-free as South Africa without vaccination. But to get to that endpoint, there are a number of stages that we have to pass through,” he explained.

The state has already procured more than two million vaccine doses, with additional international vaccines from Dollvet vaccine, BVI, and Biogénesis Bagó arriving to supplement local production.

However, supply disruptions occurred when vaccine manufacturer BVI closed for a mandatory factory shutdown in December, highlighting the need for domestic production capacity.

Whole-of-society approach essential for success

Steenhuisen emphasised that biosecurity requires collaborative effort across all sectors.

“Biosecurity is everybody’s responsibility. It can’t just be the responsibility of government, although government has a primary role to play,” he said, acknowledging the participation of industry stakeholders, farmers, and the ministerial task team.

The minister expressed hope that achieving foot-and-mouth disease-free status would reopen international markets for South African red meat products, which have been closed for decades, creating new opportunities for farmers to become profitable.

Agricultural Research Council CEO Dr Litha Magingxa credited the achievement to sustained government investment and dedicated scientific work.

“This moment represents more than just a scientific milestone. It’s a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved when public research institutions, government leadership, industry partnership, when everybody comes together with a shared purpose,” he said.

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