April 9, 2010

Ban on South African meat remains

The worldwide ban on all imports of red meat and red meat products from South Africa remains in place.

The ban by various countries around the world was necessitated by an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in several parts of South Africa recently, which caused the death of at least one person. The import ban also includes live animals.

As of March 29, approximately 78 South African farms had reported laboratory-confirmed animal cases, with extensive livestock deaths. RVF is affecting cattle, goat and wildlife on farms in the Free State, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces, and also the Mpumalanga, North West and Gauteng provinces.