Windhoek:The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform has confirmed that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak is contained within the original zones of the ||Kharas and Zambezi regions, with no new cases reported outside these areas.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the ministry's spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, provided this update at the Government Information Centre, stating that the outbreak is confined to the Karasburg State Veterinary District, with 131 positive cases identified across 18 infected farms. Surveillance has extended north of the B3 highway, where 51 farms have been inspected and sampled in the second round of testing as an early warning system.

In the Zambezi Region, the outbreak is limited to Kalala Island, with no new cases outside the designated Disease Management Area. Veterinary teams have achieved significant milestones in their initial ring-vaccination campaigns. In the Zambezi Region, 53,913 cattle have been vaccinated across 37 crush pens, while in the ||Kharas Region, 8,267 cattle have been vaccinated across 90 farms since mid-October.

Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Kenneth Shoombe confirmed that the first rounds of vaccination are nearing completion, shifting the strategy to long-term biological protection. The first round has been completed, and the second round of vaccination will begin after a 28-day waiting period, ensuring that animals produce antibodies to reduce infection rates.

Dr. Shoombe emphasized the importance of maintaining a strict ban on moving animal products out of rural farming areas to prevent urban contamination, with checkpoints and roadblocks stationed at critical regional pathways. Consumption of local meat products is allowed only at specified levels and requires a veterinary service permit. The department will monitor surveillance data and ease animal movement restrictions only when all tests return negative.