The role of the Namibian Livestock Traceability Systems in containing the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak: Case study from the Northern parts of Namibia

Namibia suffered the worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 40 years during 2015. The entire Northern Communal Areas were quarantined with a complete ban being enforced on the movement of all cattle to and from these areas. The Namibian Livestock Identification and Traceability System (NamLITS) was used to minimize the impact of this outbreak and made free trade possible once again by using its advanced functionalities illustrating its effectiveness.