Foot & mouth outbreak in Midlands 

Source: Foot & mouth outbreak in Midlands – Sunday News December 31, 2017

Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Bureau
MIDLANDS Province has been hit by severe foot and mouth disease with all districts being affected, a development which is likely to adversely affect livestock movement and production.

Sunday News has it in good authority that the situation is dire in Zvishavane, Mberengwa and Gokwe.

Chirumanzu and Mberengwa were the first districts in the province to be affected before the animal disease spread to other districts.

Midlands Provincial Crop and Livestock Officer Mrs Madeline Magwenzi said she received reports from farmers in all the province’s districts confirming that they were grappling with foot and mouth disease.

Mrs Magwenzi said the matter would be handled by the department of veterinary services.

“In terms of cattle production, farmers have indicated that the challenge they have been facing is foot and mouth. Farmers from all the districts in the province have informed us about that. However, that is not our department, correct statistics and information is with the veterinary services department. I only deal with livestock in terms of production,” she said.

An official with the Midlands Veterinary Services, Dr Munyaradzi Chigiji, recently confirmed that there was a foot and mouth outbreak in some parts of the province.

“The outbreak is as a result of trans-boundary movements. We have recorded cases of foot and mouth at various dip tanks in Mvuma communal areas that border with Masvingo Province. Our officials are still on the ground managing the situation and compiling statistics,” he said.

The disease has since spread to all parts of the province with Mberengwa, Zvishavane and the two Gokwe districts being the most affected.

A report seen by the Sunday News shows that some parts of Gweru and Kwekwe are still safe although communal areas are the most affected.

Dr Chigiji also said the veterinary department and health inspectors had launched an educational campaign for communities to stop consuming contaminated meat but to bury the carcasses.

He urged farmers to observe livestock movement restrictions, to minimise the spread of the disease from the red zone areas to other parts of the country. Dr Chigiji said the veterinary department banned movement of cattle from Mvuma communal areas as a way of controlling the spread of the disease.