The veterinary authority will intensify control measures to prevent the entry of beef, pork, goat and sheep meat, products and byproducts of these animals from regions affected by foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa.

The decision comes after the South African counterpart authority reported outbreaks of the disease recently in Northwest, Limpopo, and Kwazulu-Natal provinces.

Due to the prevailing situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Safety (MASA) has decreed a ban on the entry of meat, its products and by-products, as well as reinforced surveillance at the main entry points into the country.

The sector also decreed the mandatory visual inspection, with examination of the oral cavity and hooves of all cattle, goats, sheep and pigs, on a monthly basis, in the border districts with South Africa.

These measures reinforce those taken by the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, which has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of animals within the areas affected by the outbreak.