By 
The Free State province’s livestock industry and food security is under serious threat as the Food and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak continues to batter the province, as numbers continue to climb despite the restriction measures in place.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recently announced additional detected cases of FMD in the province. According to the department, 22 cases of FMD were confirmed in Kroonstad (2), Viljoenskroon/Vrede (1), Edenville/Koppies (2); Frankfort, Cornelia/Villiers (2), Reitz/Lindley/Tweeling/Petrus Steyn (4), Warden (1), Vrede/Memel (3), Qwa-Qwa/Harrismith (3), Bothaville/ Wesselsbron (2), Dewetsdorp (2) bring the total number of FMD cases in the Free State to 473 outbreaks.
The department says to date, the outbreak has affected 19 local municipalities across the province, they include:
Kroonstad outbreak (Moqhaka Municipality) – Twenty-four (24) confirmed cases.
Viljoenskroon/ Vredefort outbreak (Moqhaka Municipality) – Seventy-four (74) confirmed cases.
Heilbron outbreak (Ngwathe Municipality) – Nine (9) confirmed cases.
Edenville/ Koppies outbreak (Ngwathe Municipality) – Sixteen (16) confirmed cases.
Parys/ Vredefort outbreak (Ngwathe Municipality) – Fifty (50) confirmed cases.
Sasolburg/ Deneysville outbreak (Metsimaholo Municipality) – Forty-six (46) confirmed cases.
Frankfort/Cornelia/Villiers outbreak (Mafube Municipality) – Thirty-seven (37) confirmed cases.
Bethlehem outbreak ( Dihlabeng Municipality) – Fifteen (15) confirmed cases.
Reitz/ Lindley outbreak/Tweeling/Petrus Steyn (Nketoana Municipality) – Thirty (30) confirmed cases.
Warden outbreak (Phumelela Municipality) – Thirteen (13) confirmed cases.
Vrede / Memel outbreak (Phumelela Municipality) – Twenty-seven (27) confirmed cases.
Qwa-Qwa/ Harrismith outbreak (Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality) – Twenty-seven (27) confirmed cases.
Welkom/ Odendaalsrus/ Ventersburg/ Henneman/ Virginia outbreak (Matjhabeng Municipality) – Seventeen (17) confirmed cases.
Bothaville outbreak (Nala Municipality) – Nine (9) confirmed cases.
Marquard/ Senekal outbreak (Setsoto Municipality) – Twenty (20) confirmed cases.
Hlohlolwane (Clocolan) outbreak (Setsoto Municipality) – Twenty-three (23) confirmed cases.
Ladybrand outbreak (Mantsopa Municipality) – Three (3) confirmed cases.
Smithfield/Rouxville outbreak (Mohokare Municipality) – Three (3) confirmed cases.
Ladybrand/Hobhouse outbreak (Mantsopa Municipality) – three (3) confirmed cases.
Dewetsdorp outbreak (Mangaung municipality) – Four (4) confirmed cases.
Edenburg/Reddersburg outbreak (Kopanong Municipality) – Seven (7) confirmed cases.
Jacobsdal outbreak (Letsemeng municipality) – One (1) confirmed cases.
Bloemfontein/Soutpan outbreak (Mangaung Metro) – Two (2) confirmed case.
Thaba Nchu outbreak (Mangaung Metro) – One (1) confirmed case.
Bultfontein outbreak (Tswelopele Municipality) – Seven (7) confirmed cases.
Winburg outbreak (Masilonyana municipality) – Three (3) confirmed cases.
Boshof/Bultfontein outbreak (Tokologo Municipality) – Five (5) confirmed cases.
“The Department received 200 000 doses of the Biogenesis Bago vaccine on 25 February 2026 and 195 000 doses of the Dollvet vaccine on 12 March 2026. Vaccination rollout in all five districts commenced on 26 February 2026.
A total of 462 404 cattle have been vaccinated with Biogenesis Bago and the Dollvet vaccine. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL VACCINATION IS FREE OF CHARGE.
Applications for vaccination are open, and the Department has received a large number of requests. It is important to note that not all applications will be successful during the first round of vaccination, as the Department has prioritised high-risk areas through a targeted vaccination approach,” said Moliehi Moeng, the Spokesperson for the department.
Moeng says farmers are nevertheless encouraged to submit applications, as this information assists the Department with planning the vaccination rollout and determining future vaccine requirements.
“Movement restrictions have been implemented on all farms within a 10-kilometre radius of the infected farms. The infected farms have been placed under quarantine, and all farms within this radius have been notified and placed under precautionary quarantine until surveillance is completed to determine any further spread of the disease. All farms neighbouring suspect farms have been notified and also placed under precautionary quarantine pending results of suspect farm,” said Moeng.
