VIRUS TESTING DEMAND: Farmers call for independent FMD test result verification

FMD Response SA calls for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) test results in South Africa to be verified independently by The Pirbright Institute’s world reference laboratory, according to FMD Response SA spokesperson Andrew Morphew. 

FMD Response SA is a farmer-led and farmer-funded initiative which tracks South Africa’s operational and regulatory response to FMD outbreaks in South Africa. FMD Response SA is administered by a steering committee of industry representatives.

The initiative claims the state-owned Agricultural Research Council (ARC) has a conflict of interest as a producer of FMD vaccines and an organisation that conducts vaccine-matching studies, Morphew said in a written response to Daily Maverick. 

Vaccine-matching studies test the efficacy of FMD vaccines in South Africa against FMD strains. 

“The same institution producing a vaccine is also producing the scientific evidence used to judge its own product and competing vaccines. It is both a player and the referee,” Morphew said. 

 Alleged conflict of interest

The ARC has had a government mandate since 1979 to support FMD control, according to Isaac Ntshauba. Ntshauba is the spokesperson of the Agricultural Research Council Onderstepoort Veterinary Research (ARC-OVR) campus of the ARC. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) uses the ARC’s research to make decisions and lead veterinary services to implement FMD control accordingly, said Ntshauba. 

The ARC conducts FMD testing in the form of diagnosis and characterisation of the FMD virus, including testing of clinical samples, virus isolation, identification/typing and vaccine-matching studies against South African FMD virus strains, said Ntshauba. 

The ARC-OVR’s laboratory facility houses one of only two World Organisation for Animal Health (Woah) FMD reference laboratories in Africa, said Ntshauba. As a reference laboratory, the ARC-OVR provides FMD diagnostic services and conducts research to improve FMD diagnostics and vaccine development, Ntshauba said. He explained that the ARC-OVR supports FMD surveillance and response, improves diagnostic methods and provides technical expertise and reference testing to support national FMD control. 

He said that as a reference laboratory, the facility contributes to routine international diagnostic standards, proficiency and quality assurance, reference reagents and methods, advanced virus characterisation, molecular epidemiology, technical advice, training, regional capacity building, FMD surveillance in Africa, international FMD virus data sharing and scientific support to countries in the region.

The ARC-OVR also serves as South Africa’s national laboratory for FMD and provides specialised reference and vaccine-matching testing and produces its own tailor-made vaccines, said Ntshauba. 

The problem is that the ARC sits on both sides of the table, claimed Morphew. While it confirms outbreaks, performs SA’s official FMD testing, works out which strains are circulating and whether vaccines match them and advises government on vaccine use, it also manufactures its own commercial FMD vaccine, Morphew said. 

FMD Response SA is asking for South Africa’s FMD test results to be confirmed by people with “nothing riding on the answer”, Morphew said. 

“None of this alleges misconduct, but no manufacturer should have to rely on a competitor as the only source of the evidence used to judge whether its vaccine works,” Morphew said.

The initiative is calling for independent checks where a share of FMD representative samples are routinely sent to The Pirbright Institute’s world reference laboratory, so that South Africa’s findings can be verified, explained Morphew. The ARC should then publish a record of what was sent and the results of The Pirbright Institute’s testing.

The information should then be shared publicly to ensure that independent laboratories and every vaccine manufacturer has access to enough current information to check which strains are circulating and whether their vaccines still match them, Morphew explained. 

“If the independent results agree with [the ARC’s], confidence grows. If they do not, we need to know,” said Morphew.

Two separate functions as researcher and producer

According to Ntshuaba, the ARC does not view as a conflict of interest its role as both a producer of FMD vaccines and a body that confirms outbreaks, performs SA’s official FMD testing, works out which strains are circulating and whether vaccines match them and advises government on vaccine use.

He explained that the FMD reference laboratory and vaccine production unit operate as separate functions, operationally and financially. 

The production unit is not affiliated with the Woah reference laboratory and collaborates with it under appropriate service-level and material-transfer agreements, Ntshuaba said. This ensures that all commercialisation and manufacturing arrangements preserve South African ownership and control of publicly funded FMD vaccine technology.

The laboratory’s epidemiological and antigenic conclusions are driven by the scientific evidence and not by the laboratory’s vaccine-production interests, Ntshuaba said.

Further, routine diagnostic or vaccine-matching samples did not need to be sent to Pirbright, because both ARC-OVR and The Pirbright Institute laboratories were Woah reference laboratories, he said.

Precautionary suspension of Onderstepoort Biological Products acting CEO

FMD Response SA’s call for independent testing came amid the precautionary suspension of acting chief executive officer (CEO) of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) Jacob Modumo. OBP is a state-owned FMD vaccine distributor.

On 5 September, Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp confirmed in a media statement the precautionary suspension of Modumo. 

According to the statement, Aucamp convened an urgent meeting with the OBP board wherein he presented information on allegations of serious misconduct related to the pricing of FMD vaccines against Modumo on 4 September. After considering the matter, the board gave the acting CEO a notice of its intention to suspend him.

In line with the OBP’s policy, Modumo was afforded five days to provide reasons he should not be suspended. Should these reasons be insufficient, the suspension would remain in place pending an independent investigation into the allegations. 

“As a government entity, OBP has an obligation to act in the public interest. There should therefore be no exorbitant markup on the sale of FMD vaccines, particularly at a time when farmers are already carrying the significant financial burden of this outbreak,” said Aucamp, according to the statement. 

Aucamp highlighted that the suspension of Modumo was a precautionary measure and not a finding of wrongdoing or misconduct. Rather, the measure was intended to ensure that the principles of good governance, accountability and due process remained firmly at the forefront of the operations of this public entity. 

Aucamp assured stakeholders that the suspension would have no impact on SA’s ongoing FMD vaccination efforts or the progress made in combating the outbreak, according to the statement. 

Daily Maverick sent a list of questions to OBP, but did not receive a response. Daily Maverick also sent a list of questions to the DoA, to which director: media liaison in the ministry of agriculture Joylene van Wyk responded with the following: 

“The Ministry of Agriculture notes media queries on FMD vaccine retail and procurement costs, and mark-ups on foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines, as well as the selling methods concerned.

“As per the media statement released on Friday 5 September 2026, Minister Aucamp and the OBP Board will not divulge any specific information about this matter at this stage to avoid jeopardising the current processes.” 

According to Morphew, FMD Response SA welcomed the independent oversight of OBP and believes the potential investigation’s findings should be published. But regardless of the outcome of an investigation, the example showed why critical parts of the FMD response should never depend on a single channel with no independent check, said Morphew. DM