By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
BEITBRIDGE – BEITBRIDGE district is under siege from the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) with 400 cases reported by Tuesday placing the entire district under quarantine.
Briefing stakeholders during a full Beitbridge Rural District Council meeting, District Veterinary Officer Rutendo Mwaramba said the disease remains a serious threat to livestock production.
She said the outbreak was first detected in the western parts of the district but has since spread, with the eastern region now the most affected and new cases recorded daily.
In response her department had embarked on a vaccination drive with a total of 42 344 cattle jabbed.
Shortages of vaccines were however affecting the exercise and her department was unlikely to meet the required 28 day interval between treatment to arrest the spread.
“The unavailability of vaccines is a major cause for concern. Without sufficient supplies, our ability to control and eliminate the disease is limited,” she said.
Authorities have imposed a blanket quarantine on all areas of the district, affecting all hoofed livestock. While livestock movement remains restricted.
Direct slaughtering at designated facilities is permitted.
Dr. Mwaramba urged farmers to fully comply with quarantine measures to prevent further spread of the highly contagious disease.
Livestock husbandry is the mainstay of most communal farmers in Beitbridge and most parts of Matabeleland South and the emergence of FMD had affected the restocking exercise.
Although it is not clear, FMD is believed to have been triggered in Beitbridge West where buffalo’s, known carriers of FMD mixed with cattle at a farm west of the border town.
Beitbridge Rural District Council chairman who runs an abattoir warned stakeholders to be wary of black market sales of meet he said could harm the community.
Symptoms of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in people include fever, sore throat, loss of appetite, and feeling generally unwell.
This is followed by painful blisters or mouth ulcers that form in the mouth and a rash with red spots, sometimes turning into blisters, that appears on the hands, feet, and sometimes the buttocks.