Diseases leave 26 cattle dead in Mazabuka
Twenty six heads of cattle have died in chiefs Hanjalika, Mweenda and Mwanachingwala’s chiefdoms in Mazabuka District following an outbreak of livestock diseases.
According to Mazabuka District commissioner Tyson Hamaamba, the area had confirmed cases of tick borne disease and veterinary officers were going round educating farmers on how to protect their livestock.
Hamaamba dispelled reports by Magoye parliamentarian that a mysterious disease had broken out in his constitutency.
He said all the livestock diseases in the area were well known.
He said samples and laboratory examinations conducted from sick animals confirmed cases of corridor, heart water and anaploasmosis livestock diseases.
Hamaamba said 86 heads of cattle were diagnosed with corridor disease of which 19 had died in the last two weeks in the affected chiefdoms.
He said six heads of cattle died of anaploasmosis from the 27 cases reported in the district while one animal died of heart water out of the four cases reported.
Hamaamba said apart from the named livestock diseases killing animals, extreme weather conditions also affected their health.
He said when the soil was too wet, animals contracted foot root although no animal had died of that disease.
Hamaamba named the most affected areas as Nadezwe in chieftainess Mweenda’s area, Ngwezi camp, Chalimbana, Hanjalika in chief Hanjalika’s area and Mbiya in chief Mwanachingwala’s chiefdom.
He said officers from the Veterinary Department had been sent to the affected areas to sensitise cattle owners on the need to vaccinate and spray their animals every week.
Hamaamba said the lack of dipping animals by farmers was responsible for the increased number of animals dying from corridor related diseases.
Hamaamba urged cattle farmers to cooperate with the officers because dipping and spraying was the surest way of containing livestock diseases in the affected areas.
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