VILLAGERS in PBS village in Fort Rixon, Insiza, Matabeleland South, are losing cattle to January disease, formally known as theileriosis, after a villager illegally moved 28 cattle from Masvingo province without clearance from the Veterinary Services Department.
So far around 80 cattle have been lost to theileriosis in Insiza district. January Disease (Theileriosis) is transmitted by ticks and is more prevalent during the rainy season, hence the popular name. Affected animals usually collapse and die within a few days.
Mr Nkani Khoza, a farmer said a fellow villager bought 28 heifers from Masvingo, where the disease was initially detected.
“A villager bought 28 heifers from Masvingo and smuggled them to the province without clearance from the Department of Veterinary Services. This is how the disaster began,” he said.
“A few days later, the villager, including some of his neighbours started losing their cattle. Mind you, once your cattle are affected there is little or nothing that you can do to save them.”
Mr Khoza said when the livestock continued to deteriorate, they engaged the Department of Veterinary Services and they concluded that it was theileriosis.
According to the department, tick-borne diseases are responsible for about 60 percent of annual losses in livestock. January Disease is a notifiable disease in Zimbabwe and when farmers suspect its presence they are compelled by the law to make a report to the Department of Veterinary Services.
The Government has introduced a range of measures to fight the deadly disease including dip tank rehabilitation, production of local vaccines, dipping, and introduction of Presidential tick grease, among others. – The Herald
