Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in Kavango East Region spreads further
The Foot and mouth disease reported in the Kavango East Region in September has now spread to Shighuru village in the Mashare Constitution, and is now rapidly spreading to surrounding areas, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Albertina Shilongo said in a statement this week.
Shilongo said furthermore a new FMD outbreak was detected on 27 October at Sivara village 50 km west of Rundu in the Kapako Constituency in the Kavango West.
“Thirteen cattle out of 31 in the herd showed FMD clinical signs on physicak examination conducted by vet officials,” she added.
According to Shilongo, the government has now adopted a wide range of remedies, including widespread vaccination of cattle in the affected areas to deal with the challenge.
The government has declared the two regions of Kavango East and West as disease management areas and has tightened the movement of animals in and out of the affected areas.
Shilongo said they are now implementing stricter roadblocks and will not allow any slaughtering of cattle, sale of hides, or movement of meat-related products from the affected areas to lower the risk of the disease spreading further to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile Shilongo called on farmers in the affected areas to be on high alert and report any suspected cases to authorities in the shortest time.
