Disease

Foot and Mouth Disease - South Africa

The Department of Agriculture has finally revealed the extent of the foot and mouth outbreak. Officials say it has affected more than 15, 000 cattle in Vhembe district in Limpopo and that the situation is worse than expected. The area has been quarantined and further assessments will be made to determine if cattle need to be culled.

The department has also expressed concerned about the money the country is losing over the halting of meat exports. Zimbabwe has joined Botswana, Eswatini and Namibia in banning the import of livestock products from South Africa.

Measles - Brazil

The Brazil Ministry of Health reported this week on the measles situation in the country. From the beginning of 2018, until January 8 of this year, 10,274 cases were confirmed in Brazil. 12 fatalities have been reported.

Currently, the country faces two outbreaks of measles: in Amazonas with 9,778 confirmed cases and in 355 cases in Roraima. The outbreaks that occurred last year are related to importation, since the genotype of the virus (D8), which is circulating in Brazil, is the same that circulates in Venezuela, a country with a disease outbreak since 2017.