By 31 March 2026, South Africa’s Department of Agriculture reported 1,205 open foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks and 27 closed outbreaks nationwide, bringing the confirmed total to 1,232. The figures appear in the department’s technical report submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health on that date.
The same report states that suspected clinical signs were recorded in all districts of the Eastern Cape, with laboratory testing confirming outbreaks at 69 locations in that province. The virus was identified as SAT1, a serotype endemic to southern African buffalo populations.
South Africa lost its internationally recognised FMD-free zone without vaccination status in January 2019, according to the Department of Agriculture. The country has not regained that status, and the disease has since spread steadily across multiple provinces, threatening both commercial and emerging farmers.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral infection affecting cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats, causing painful blisters, reduced milk yields, and weight loss. The disease does not infect humans but spreads easily on clothing, vehicles, and equipment, making movement control central to any containment effort.
GroundUp reported on 5 May 2026 that South Africa is experiencing its worst-ever FMD epidemic, with dairy farms losing more than R1-billion between January 2024 and January 2026. The publication also reported that a single farm outbreak cost at least R7-million, including roughly R3-million on medicines, though Cape Flats News has not independently verified these figures.
"FMD is a controlled disease in terms of the Animal Diseases Act, 1984," the Department of Agriculture said in a media statement on 23 April 2025. The department confirmed that infected properties are quarantined immediately and that government-controlled vaccination is rolled out in a risk-based manner, targeting at least 80% of the national herd.
On 14 July 2025, the Department of Agriculture reported 270 outbreaks across five provinces, with 249 unresolved and 21 resolved. By March 2026, the outbreak count had grown more than fourfold to 1,232, according to the department’s own technical data.
The department said on 23 April 2025 that positive cases in KwaZulu-Natal were linked to an auction held in Utrecht in February 2025, with trace-forward investigations under way. A US Department of Agriculture report noted that South Africa announced a national FMD strategy in February 2026, with additional vaccine imports from Türkiye pending permits.
The full financial impact on South Africa’s dairy and livestock sectors remains unclear, and the loss figures reported by GroundUp have not been confirmed by the Department of Agriculture or independent industry bodies. Cape Flats News journalist Sipho Khumalo will review the department’s next technical report, expected by 31 May 2026, for updated outbreak numbers and progress on the national strategy.