Foot and mouth disease hits Mukono
Sep 02, 2008
WHEN his cow lost appetite, Fred Musa feared it had been bewitched. “I fed it with <i>omululuza</i> (a local herb),†he says. “But it died after four days.†When news of his cow’s death spread, a team of veterinary officers was dispatched to Njeru town council. It was discovered that the c
By Joel Ogwang
WHEN his cow lost appetite, Fred Musa feared it had been bewitched. “I fed it with omululuza (a local herb),†he says. “But it died after four days.†When news of his cow’s death spread, a team of veterinary officers was dispatched to Njeru town council. It was discovered that the cow had died of the deadly foot and mouth disease (FMD).
Henceforth, the district banned cattle movement in Njeru. Subsequent investigations in the district also showed the disease’s presence in Nakisunga and Nyenga sub-counties. A Quarantine was imposed in those areas.
Mukono has 24 sub-counties and four town councils. According to Dr. Fred Mukulu, the director of production, it is the first time in 20-years that Mukono has registered an FMD outbreak. FMD has a very fast multiplier effect. “It can wipe out cattle if not contained urgently,†says Mukulu.
The first case of the deadly disease was reported in June. FMD is a contagious disease.
It causes dizziness in an affected animal as well as excess mucus and saliva discharge through the mouth. The animal dies within seven days. About 10 cattle have died of FMD in Mukono.
Quarantine imposed
Mukono’s imposition of quarantine followed a recommendation by the agriculture ministry. Movement of livestock, its products and by-products from, to and within Nakisunga and Nyenga sub-counties and Njeru town board is prohibited with immediate effect, says a ministry official.
“No slaughters are allowed in Njeru town board, Nyenga and Nakisunga sub-counties in Mukono,†says Dr. Rutebarika from the livestock health and entomology department. Mukono has also imposed restrictions on the movement of pigs. “They (pigs) are more susceptible (to the FMD) than cattle,†says Mukulu. While no case of the disease has so far been reported in pigs, the district has closed all pork joints in Nakisunga, Nyenga and Njeru until the quarantine is lifted.
FMD does not affect humans when meat of an infected animal is eaten. “But the meat is tasteless,†says Mukulu. To avoid further spread of FMD, authorities in Mukono have suspended the slaughter of livestock at the main abattoir in Kyetume. “We realised that non-compliant people may illegally ferry animals from the areas we have imposed quarantine,†Mukulu says.
Implementation of the ban
In Mukono, the directorate of production is partnering with the Police and sub-county chiefs to implement the ban. Mobile animal check-points have also been erected across the district.
“We have also banned transportation of meat by public transport,†Mukulu says.
Livingstone Zziwa, the Mukono vice-chairman, says veterinary doctors are supposed to recommend and witness slaughter of cattle, but sometimes they do not.
“All vehicles transporting cattle are supposed to have livestock movement permits, but some transporters don’t have them,†he says. “Such transporters will now be arrested.â€
Implication of the ban
The quarantine has no time-frame and residents of the affected areas will, in the meantime, do without beef and pork. They will rely on other sources of proteins like beans and fish.
Following the closure of Kyetume Abattoir, other parts of Mukono will rely on meat from Kampala butchers.
“Our biggest problem is vehicles do not deliver meat in time,†says Meddie Kato, a butcher.
The city abattoir, built in 1935 is the country’s biggest. Issa Nsubuga, the city chairman, says 250-350 heads of cattle are slaughtered daily.
About 100 goats and 30 sheep are also slaughtered daily. “We charge sh7,000 for every head of cattle slaughtered,†he says. Goats and sheep are slaughtered at sh1,000 each. Kampala also boasts of abattoirs in Kalerwe, Kajjansi, Maganjo, Nansana, Wankulukuku and Kazinga. Nsubuga says the abattoirs have veterinary inspectors who check for any disease before slaughter.
The change in supply has not impacted on the price of meat in Mukono but the district coffers will miss out on the monthly sh5m it has been getting as animal licences and butcher fees until the ban is lifted.
The agriculture ministry has distributed 10,000 doses of vaccines to check the spread of FMD.
WHEN his cow lost appetite, Fred Musa feared it had been bewitched. “I fed it with omululuza (a local herb),†he says. “But it died after four days.†When news of his cow’s death spread, a team of veterinary officers was dispatched to Njeru town council. It was discovered that the cow had died of the deadly foot and mouth disease (FMD).
Henceforth, the district banned cattle movement in Njeru. Subsequent investigations in the district also showed the disease’s presence in Nakisunga and Nyenga sub-counties. A Quarantine was imposed in those areas.
Mukono has 24 sub-counties and four town councils. According to Dr. Fred Mukulu, the director of production, it is the first time in 20-years that Mukono has registered an FMD outbreak. FMD has a very fast multiplier effect. “It can wipe out cattle if not contained urgently,†says Mukulu.
The first case of the deadly disease was reported in June. FMD is a contagious disease.
It causes dizziness in an affected animal as well as excess mucus and saliva discharge through the mouth. The animal dies within seven days. About 10 cattle have died of FMD in Mukono.
Quarantine imposed
Mukono’s imposition of quarantine followed a recommendation by the agriculture ministry. Movement of livestock, its products and by-products from, to and within Nakisunga and Nyenga sub-counties and Njeru town board is prohibited with immediate effect, says a ministry official.
“No slaughters are allowed in Njeru town board, Nyenga and Nakisunga sub-counties in Mukono,†says Dr. Rutebarika from the livestock health and entomology department. Mukono has also imposed restrictions on the movement of pigs. “They (pigs) are more susceptible (to the FMD) than cattle,†says Mukulu. While no case of the disease has so far been reported in pigs, the district has closed all pork joints in Nakisunga, Nyenga and Njeru until the quarantine is lifted.
FMD does not affect humans when meat of an infected animal is eaten. “But the meat is tasteless,†says Mukulu. To avoid further spread of FMD, authorities in Mukono have suspended the slaughter of livestock at the main abattoir in Kyetume. “We realised that non-compliant people may illegally ferry animals from the areas we have imposed quarantine,†Mukulu says.
Implementation of the ban
In Mukono, the directorate of production is partnering with the Police and sub-county chiefs to implement the ban. Mobile animal check-points have also been erected across the district.
“We have also banned transportation of meat by public transport,†Mukulu says.
Livingstone Zziwa, the Mukono vice-chairman, says veterinary doctors are supposed to recommend and witness slaughter of cattle, but sometimes they do not.
“All vehicles transporting cattle are supposed to have livestock movement permits, but some transporters don’t have them,†he says. “Such transporters will now be arrested.â€
Implication of the ban
The quarantine has no time-frame and residents of the affected areas will, in the meantime, do without beef and pork. They will rely on other sources of proteins like beans and fish.
Following the closure of Kyetume Abattoir, other parts of Mukono will rely on meat from Kampala butchers.
“Our biggest problem is vehicles do not deliver meat in time,†says Meddie Kato, a butcher.
The city abattoir, built in 1935 is the country’s biggest. Issa Nsubuga, the city chairman, says 250-350 heads of cattle are slaughtered daily.
About 100 goats and 30 sheep are also slaughtered daily. “We charge sh7,000 for every head of cattle slaughtered,†he says. Goats and sheep are slaughtered at sh1,000 each. Kampala also boasts of abattoirs in Kalerwe, Kajjansi, Maganjo, Nansana, Wankulukuku and Kazinga. Nsubuga says the abattoirs have veterinary inspectors who check for any disease before slaughter.
The change in supply has not impacted on the price of meat in Mukono but the district coffers will miss out on the monthly sh5m it has been getting as animal licences and butcher fees until the ban is lifted.
The agriculture ministry has distributed 10,000 doses of vaccines to check the spread of FMD.