My name is Rebecca Odendaal. We run a cow-calf operation in the Waterberg district of Limpopo with 200+ cattle. Vermate and Thermal Mud are excellent products to use to combat the symptoms of FMD in cattle.
When foot and mouth disease hit this cattle operation, recovery was slow despite strict veterinary intervention and pharmaceutical treatment. This real-world case study follows the timeline of that outbreak, from first diagnosis and vaccination, through to the introduction of Vermate and Thermal Mud three weeks in, and the measurable shift that followed. We unpack the progression of symptoms, the response to conventional treatment, and the clear before-and-after impact once biological support was added. From improvements in appetite, cud chewing, and coat condition, to accelerated healing of severe cases involving hooves, mouths, and even tongue damage, each section highlights what changed, when it changed, and how recovery outcomes differed across the herd, including early versus late intervention and treated versus untreated animals.
“The smell is something else. This poor lady has her teats peeling and her tongue peeling it is like the tissue is rotting in the body. The foot sores, teat sores and mouth sores each smell so different and so terrible.
It is dreadful to smell and the cows feel terrible.”
The Outbreak Begins
We found our first cases of foot and mouth disease on 12 February 2026 and reported it to the state vet immediately. On 16 February 2026, the state vet came out and performed blood and tissue swab tests.
At this stage, upon finding our sick animals, we were treating with:
• Citric acid in the water
• Molasses and salt mixed together to feed on a 70/30 ratio
• Duplocillin for secondary infection
• Pyroflam for pain
• Ivermectin/Vitamin AD3E complex for immune support
• Vitamin Bco Bolic to increase appetite
• Saline and copper sulphate wash for the feet
• Terramycin or Rednil when symptoms showed Redwater or heartwater
Our initially sick animals with minor symptoms recovered after 20 days, while the extremely ill ones took 35+ days.
Vaccination Phase
Our herd was inoculated for FMD on 28 February 2026 using BIOAFTOGEN. It caused extremely bad symptoms in cattle that started showing infection symptoms in the week following vaccination. However, cattle that became infected two weeks after vaccination experienced shorter and less severe effects.
Introduction of Vermate & Thermal Mud
We received our Vermate and Thermal Mud on 4 March 2026, three weeks into the FMD outbreak. At this point, cattle that had already been sick for 22 days started on Vermate and Thermal Mud depending on their symptoms, and recovered quite quickly with the added support.
We started dosing our cattle with 90–120 ml of Vermate orally twice a day.
Response to Treatment
Cattle treated with Vermate and Thermal Mud:
• Within 3 days became more perky and showed better gut sounds, chewing their cud
• By day 7, the worst symptoms had passed
• By day 10–14, they had healed completely
Before Vermate arrived, many cattle were struggling with:
• Acidosis
• Not chewing their cud
• Lack of appetite
Once started on Vermate:
• Coats became shiny and healthy
• Gritty, greasy hide disappeared
• Appetite increased
• Cattle healed from the inside out
Observations in Early vs Late Treatment
Cattle that started Vermate from day one of FMD:
• Maintained shiny coats
• Did not experience loss of appetite
• Continued chewing their cud
• Had fewer mouth sores
• Healed much quicker
Specific Case Observations
• A milkbred cow had the entire bottom half of her tongue peel off, and it healed within 5 days
• Another bull whose tongue peeled off before Vermate took 2½ weeks to heal
A milk heifer with a 1-month-old calf developed FMD where one teat lost all skin:
• Treated with zinc sulphate wash and Thermal Mud twice a day for 48 hours
• Calf was removed for 48 hours
• Teat healed, milk production resumed, no mastitis observed
• Calf was able to drink again
Bulls Case Comparison
Our bulls were 3 weeks into illness when Vermate and Thermal Mud were introduced.
• Two bulls that received Vermate and Thermal Mud healed very quickly
o Within 6 days, they were back on grass with the cows
o Thermal Mud healed foot rot alongside copper sulphate and salt washes
• One bull that did not allow treatment and refused Vermate:
o Took an additional month to recover
o Only then returned to the herd
Comparison to Previous Treatment
All cattle had already been on a strict treatment plan before Vermate and Thermal Mud arrived, including:
• Duplocillin
• Ivermectin
• Pyroflam
• Salt wash
• Copper sulphate wash
• Vitamin Bco Bolic
This allowed a clear comparison of how well Vermate and Thermal Mud worked.
Overall Impact
We felt hopeless, as dairy-type cows, even on regular pharmaceutical treatment, struggled with severe pain. They stopped eating, lay down, and bellowed for hours. They did not want to walk, and even soft grasses were unpalatable.
Once Vermate and Thermal Mud were introduced, the difference in our herd was shocking and made it worth having the products.
Breed Observations
Our herd includes:
• Purebred Bonsmaras
• Purebred Simmental (American bloodlines and South African lines)
• Purebred Brahman
• Crossbred Dexter and Jersey
The Pure and crossbred Simmental, Jersey, and Dexter cattle struggled the most with FMD, while Brahman and Bonsmara handled the illness the best.
My handsome Bull Chris has moved from the “hospital kraal” to the highly monitored camp. So he has restricted movement but fresh grass. He was very excited to graduate from the sick camp. He was on day 3 of the Vermate trial and we saw a large increase in appetite and he was more bright and chewing more cud.
We found the simplest way to administer the Vermate is using a new dip applicator backpack and sprayer straight into the mouth, the dosing is quite well controlled and when haltered the cows do not horribly disagree with administration.
This was the freshest hoof sore I have seen yet. It cracked or split open right in front of me.
Another symptom is a terrible snot nose with very crusty boogers.
All 3 of the cows with these symptoms are very Simmintalerx dairy breed type. All 3 of them are our Milk cows.
Final Note
They will walk oddly. They will stop eating. They will bellow for hours, manage the pain, support them where you can. There are moments where you will feel completely hopeless and even heartless, but you will get through it.
Out of our 217 cattle, most showed symptoms. We only lost three, a Jersey cross type, one older calf, and a 3-day-old calf.
What stood out most was the shift in recovery. Before Vermate, recovery stretched beyond three weeks. With Vermate and Thermal Mud, severe symptoms settled within around 2 days, and the remaining symptoms cleared within 7 days.
The difference in weight loss was just as significant. Cattle treated only with pharmaceuticals dropped drastically from a body condition score of 7 or 8 down to 2 or 4. In comparison, cattle on Vermate and Thermal Mud held condition far better, moving from 7 or 8 down to 5 or 6. This alone made a meaningful difference in cost and recovery.
Treatment demand also changed. Instead of needing repeated pharmaceutical intervention every few days, most cattle required only a 7-day treatment period alongside Vermate.
We dosed Vermate at 90–120 ml twice daily for the first 3 days. If improvement was slower, we continued dosing every second day once daily until recovery progressed.
This experience showed us just how much difference the right support can make, not only in recovery time, but in the overall resilience and condition of the herd.
Our FMD Protocol
-
- Wash foot daily with 10% salt water solution, after wash foot daily with copper sulphate solution (500g in a 10-litre rug sac) until wounds and swelling and foot cracks and smells are gone. If very bad alternate with Zink Sulphate
- Paint feet with Thermal Mud, 2x a day on the swelling and cracks
- Feed daily Molasses meal, 1 sac to 3/4 sac no 1 or 2 salt, this helps the mouth get cleaned inside as the cattle drink extra water
- Keep free choice summer lick, we use Molatek Foslick
- Feed every 3rd day Rumex or gut help in the water
- Wash crib and treat once a week with citric acid, get pH <6.5 but below 8
- Collect all poop from high traffic areas for vehicles, and disinfect ground where it came from
- Spray out of your farm gates and change clothes and shoes when leaving to protect your neighbours, try not to travel on muddy or rain days to protect your neighboring farms
- Keep sick cattle contained at your kraal, feed soft grass or soft bales, sanitize when the groups of sick cattle change
Medication routine – Large cows or bulls
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- 90–100 mls Vermate orally 1–2x daily depending on severity of FMD, this keeps gut active and prevents issues from not eating when tongue is sore and heals mouth a lot faster, also keeps the animals’ bright eyes and shining coats
- Multivitamins and zinc products, your cattle need to be up to date on this as it helps them heal faster and gives them minerals when they get depleted. As directed on package, repeat weekly in infected cattle
- Ivermectin – 20ml orally 1–2x a day from day 1 of symptoms until day 3–5, if you cannot give orally, inject correct dose as directed, it will not be as quick
- If very severe give colloidal silver 50ml orally, this stays in the meat
- Vitamin Bco Bolic – 20 mls, daily while infected IM as this gives appetite and keeps them perky, this gets depleted in stress
- Pyroflam or Vetcam or other pain meds – 10–20mls depending on weight every 2nd day, this keeps the pain away and allows them to eat. If you are seeing any overlapping symptoms treat for Redwater or Heartwater with either Bernil, Rednil or Maxitet or Terramycin. Our vet Dr. Bester said it is normally the secondary infection that kills. If the mouth is cold and white with bad capillary refill time (color returning to the gums when pressed) we gave Rednil or Bernil
- Duplocillin or another Penicillin product, as directed by your vet
- If they have sores on nose, feet or teats, treat with Thermal Mud. When they have sores pull the calf for 24–48 hours and trim off the wounded skin, paint every 6–12 hours with Thermal Mud. Return calf to mother after it heals
Calf and young stock
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- reduced dose of everything according to their weight
