25 Jul 2018

Residents of Sehithwa and surrounding areas have been informed that the recent Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak that was detected at Naune crush within the Sehithwa extension area was due to poor vaccination.  

Ngamiland agricultural coordinator, Mr Obert Mabutha revealed this during a consultative meeting to update farmers and residents about the FMD situation in their area. 

The meeting was also aimed at soliciting ideas from the farming community on how best the government could control the disease.

He said initially they received reports from farmers of sighting two cattle showing signs and symptoms of FMD, but during surveillance, the number increased as over 100 cattle had signs of the disease in the area.

Mr Mabutha expressed disappointment, noting that it had been realised that the affected animals had been vaccinated once, while some were not vaccinated at all.

He stressed that the vaccination exercise was conducted three times a year in an effort to contain and control the spread of the disease, but it was unfortunate  that some farmers failed to bring their cattle for vaccination.

He called on farmers to join hands with the government to fight the disease, noting that they should understand that the cattle industry is of economic importance.

Farmers were also encouraged to observe movement protocols during the outbreak. 

Mr Mabutha explained that initially the whole zone was restricted, but now movement restriction is done only in the affected extension area.

“Let us cooperate and ensure we vaccinate all our cattle during the exercise so that we can get back to market. 

There are areas such as Shorobe where cattle do mix with buffaloes, but we never detect FMD because farmers exercise 100 per cent vaccination,” he added.

He appealed to farmers to bring all the cattle that were not vaccinated in the just- ended campaign, adding that vaccination was the easy way to control the disease.

Mr Mabutha also revealed that the ministry was aware of the dilapidated buffer and protection zone fences, but stated that efforts were being made to maintain them.

He also appealed to farmers to come up with ideas on how they could address the issue of Lake Ngami as the water was rising, noting that most animals that drank at the lake were a threat as far as FMD was concerned.

Principal veterinary officer, Dr Odireleng Thololwane stated that during surveillance, they recorded 107 animals showing signs and symptoms of FMD in 15 crushes.

He explained that at Naune crush, the FMD situation had stabilised as the last case was recorded on June the 17 at Semboyo syndicate borehole.

He appealed to farmers to take FMD vaccination campaigns seriously so that they benefit from the upcoming beef markets, adding that during their investigations, they learnt from herd boys that their superiors had warned them not to report any animals showing signs of the disease.

Dr Thololwane also revealed that the last vaccination campaign that ended in May did not go according to their expectations, especially in Sehithwa extension area as they managed to vaccinate 58 per cent, which means 42 per cent of cattle were not vaccinated.

The department expected 9 953 cattle, but only 5 740 were brought for vaccination. 

In other areas such as Semboyo, he said, they exceeded their set target of 80 per cent as they managed 116 per cent. 

He requested farmers to consider constructing crushes in their kraals for easy vaccination as some complained about long distance to public crushes.

For their part, residents appreciated that they were not playing their part in the fight against FMD as they failed to look after cattle. 

They also admitted that they only collected their cattle when they wanted to sell, but promised to improve.

However, Mr Kairua Pingane said it was difficult to control cattle, especially at Lake Ngami when it is flooding. 

He also called on government to consider land demarcation to prevent disease outbreaks. ENDS