SA turns to UK to strengthen FMD vaccine response

The announcement was made in a media statement on 23 January by Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, who confirmed that local FMD strains had been dispatched to Pirbright, designated the World Reference Laboratory for FMD by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The last time South Africa submitted field strains to the institute was in 2011.

While Pirbright does not manufacture vaccines, it plays a vital global role in testing whether existing vaccines are effective ‘matches’ for virus strains circulating in the field. This process, known as antigenic matching, is essential to ensure that vaccination campaigns provide real protection rather than a false sense of security.

“By sending our latest FMD virus strains to Pirbright, South Africa is ensuring that the millions of vaccine doses being procured are scientifically proven to protect our national herd,” Steenhuisen said in the statement.

The Department of Agriculture (DoA) also moved to dispel misinformation circulating on social media, which alleged that the virus strains had been sent to the incorrect division at Pirbright.

Steenhuisen stressed that the samples were delivered to the correct administrative receiving point and that Pirbright internally routes all material based on declared pathogens, biosafety classifications, and supporting documentation, and not on waybill descriptions alone.

According to background information from the Pirbright Institute, the laboratory has served as the World Reference Laboratory for FMD since 1958 and maintains the world’s largest archive of FMD virus samples.

Its antigenic matching process uses virus neutralisation tests and 𝑟1-value calculations to determine how well vaccine strains protect against field viruses, with results typically available within weeks.

The resumption of submissions to Pirbright forms part of the DoA’s newly adopted 10-year FMD eradication strategy, which aims to transition South Africa to ‘FMD-free with vaccination’ status. The strategy represents a shift away from repeated crisis management towards a long-term, technically driven solution.

Dr Mark Chimes, veterinary adviser and programme manager for animal health and welfare at Milk South Africa, told Farmer’s Weekly: “The renewed collaboration with Pirbright is a crucial enabler of this strategy, as vaccine matching ensures that resources invested in vaccination translate into meaningful disease control, reduced economic losses, and restored confidence in South Africa’s livestock industry.”