Just as some Eastern Cape farmers breathed a sigh of relief after their foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) quarantine was lifted last year, the threat of the disease spreading across the country has them hunkering down and praying they will be spared a second outbreak. Their latest FMD test results came back negative and their quarantine was lifted towards the end of 2025. Disinfectant stations placed along the highways around Ixopo and at the entrances of farms are being used to try to stop further spread of foot-and-mouth disease. Dairy cows usually recover from foot-and-mouth disease within weeks, but there can be permanent milk loss or reduced productivity. Now that Kouga is clear, we need to stop FMD from spreading over that line.