07 Jul 2026

Department of Veterinary Services has raised concern following a spike in cases of beef measles detected in cattle arriving at the abattoir for slaughter in Chobe District.

In an interview, Principal Veterinary Officer for Chobe District Dr Tichaona Aaron warned that a sudden surge in measles cases was an indication of a breakdown in sanitation and hygiene standards in the district.

He revealed that Chobe District used to record no cases of measles, however six cases were detected at the slaughter facility between March to May in cattle from Mabele and Satau.

He said out of the 76 cattle slaughtered in May, six had measles while nine out of the 84 killed in April were infected and one of the 60 slaughtered in March had measles. Dr Aaron further said in January and February there were no cases.

The officer explained that the parasitic disease was found in cattle that ingested tapeworm eggs from human faeces in the environment.

“An infected person with tapeworm would shed those tapeworms unto the pasture and each tapeworm proglottid or a segment of a tapeworm body would contain 10 000 to 50 000 eggs which all have a potential of hatching to a lava,” he said.

Dr Aaron alluded that an animal would feed on a pasture with an infected lava hence that lava develop in that animal and migrate to the muscles to form a cyst.

He warned that beef measles was asymptomatic in cattle because cattle exhibited no outward signs of the illness.

This he said made the illness a silent threat because it could only be detected through carcass post mortem after it was slaughtered.

The officer stated that during inspections the meat scientists would make cuts in the muscles, tongue, and heart triceps in order to check for cysts.

Dr Aaron informed that carcasses were graded based on cysts density, where severe cases exceeding the threshold would be condemned outright and disposed.

However, he noted that in in incidences where the infection is mild with a few cysts the carcass would be treated with heat or cold storage for a certain period before it qualified for human consumption.

He stressed that it was imperative that human beings went for deworming in order to break the cycle, advising that toilets must be built in every cattle post and farm.

He stated that due to the heavy rains received this season, it was possible that human waste was carried by floods and contaminated water sources leading to exposures on cattle herds.

Dr Aaron pointed out that when there were floods, some toilets spilled too hence waste got swept away into water sources where animals would drink. ENDS