The Equine Industry demands the urgent lifting of the monopoly on production and distribution of the African Horse sickness Vaccine in South Africa

African horse sickness is a devastating disease that causes great suffering and many fatalities amongst horses in sub-saharan Africa. It is caused by nine different serotypes of the orbivirus African Horse Sickness and it is spread by Culicoid midges. Outbreaks occur annually across South Africa with a morality rate of approximately 96% in some cases and affects both annually vaccinated and non-vaccinated equines. There is no known cure and treatment is symptomatic.

African Horse Sickness does not discriminate – horses from outlying veld areas to the top class breeding, competition and racing industries are affected equally.

The disease has severe economic impact to South Africa – the horse industry employs over 80,000 people and contributes upwards of R3bn annually to the economy. (the SA horse racing industry alone contributes R2.71bn per year in GDP –Forbes Africa)

The control of AHS (African Horse Sickness), production and administration of vaccine and movement of equines in South Africa are overseen by the Department of The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Ms Thoko Didiza,  under the ANIMAL DISEASES ACT, 1984 (ACT NO 35 of 1984).

There is no cure for AHS and no specific treatment aside from rest and good animal husbandry. However, ultimately, vaccination of animals remains the most successful method of prevention and control.

Regulations in Animal Disease Act 1984 (Act no. 35 of 84) stipulate horses should be vaccinated between 1 June and 31 October every year. Horses must be vaccinated against AHS with a vaccine registered in terms of the Fertilisers, Farm feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 1947 (Act No. 36 of 47). The response however, of individual horses to vaccine administration varies and in some individuals, antibodies against one or more of the serotypes might not even be detectable. Despite these limitations, the Ondersterpoort Biological Products’ (OBP) AHS vaccine is the only vaccine registered for use in South Africa in terms of the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No. 36 of 1947) and remains the only currently approved AHS vaccine in South Africa.

This year, 2021, equine owners are unable to acquire the vaccine due to Ondersterpoort Biological Products failure to produce their annual quota.

Inactivated or recombinant vaccines are a viable alternatives to the current available vaccine, already developed by other pharmaceutical companies, but are not commercially available at this time due to licence restrictions.

- With local dissatisfaction around the current vaccine and the terrible ramifications of Ondersterpoort Biological Products failure to produce their vaccine in time, we, members of the Equine Industry in South Africa, are calling on the urgent intervention of the The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Ms Thoko Didiza,  to:

- - Immediately lift the current monopoly on the licence to produce AHS vaccine held by OBP.

- - Urgently approve/grant licences to pharmaceutical companies who have already developed effective AHS vaccine.

- - Urgently approve Section 20 application for conducting efficacy and safety studies for experimental vaccine already developed locally.