Online Reporter
Judith Phiri-Bulawayo Bureau
THE Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has issued a stern warning to farmers in Bubi District, Matabeleland North Province, who are not taking their livestock for dipping.
This comes as close to 1 300 cattle deaths have been recorded due to January Disease (JD) this year.
Also known as Theileriosis, JD is a deadly tick-borne illness that spreads rapidly in warm, wet conditions and can wipe out entire herds if not controlled.
Severe outbreaks of the disease have been ravaging communal cattle farming regions across the country, putting the national herd at risk, jeopardising food security and livelihoods of rural communities reliant on cattle farming.
In Bubi District of Matabeleland North Province statistics indicate that this year 1 401 January Disease cases with 1 294 deaths were reported. About 3 537 cattle as of February 4, weekly report were vaccinated against January Disease using Bolvac vaccine in January Disease hotspots.
The statistics also indicate that a huge increase in January Disease cases and deaths have been noted this year in period January to February as compared of same period in 2024 and 2025.
Officials say this might be due to an increase in the number of epi-units affected by January Disease in the province, as well as increase in tick habitat following a heavy rainfall season.
In an interview at Inyathi Diptank in Bubi District on Thursday, Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Davis Marapira, said he was saddened to note that some farmers were not implementing the 5-5-4 dipping.
“We have had 1 300 cattle deaths in Bubi District, mostly due to January Disease. January Disease is caused by brown ticks and we can only destroy them by dipping continuously and religiously,” he said.
“In this area, we have realised that some farmers do not bring their cattle to the diptank and it’s these farmers who then suffer a lot from January Disease caused by the brown ticks.
“As Government we have brought in vaccinations and dipping chemicals, while we have already vaccinated 5 000 animals out of almost 80 000 animals here in the Bubi District. We have been targeting the most affected diptanks and we have done the vaccination.”
He said the Government encourages farmers to contribute their $2 per animal per year towards dipping chemicals and pledged that the State will continue to provide $1 for each cattle per year.
Deputy Minister Marapira said they have asked private players such as Coopers Animal Health to assist with dipping chemicals for the next one month in Bubi District.
“So, four diptanks around this area will get these dipping chemicals so that animals are continuously and religiously dipped. We will make a check to make sure that there is a decrease to new deaths. It’s another solution in an area where we feel that the disease has gone too far,” he added.
The Deputy Minister said failure to dip cattle was a criminal offence under the Animal Health Act and the Cattle Cleansing Act as farmers who do not comply with mandatory dipping schedules, particularly during the rainy season to prevent January Disease, should face penalties.
Matabeleland North provincial veterinary services director, Dr Gwinyai Zhandire, also bemoaned the main challenge being encountered of the inconsistent turnout of cattle at dip-tanks in spite of the Government implementing 5-5-4 dipping.
Under the 5-5-4 dipping regime, livestock should be dipped every five days for two cycles, followed by a four-day interval before resuming the five-day schedule.
“In Bubi District, where we have a cattle population of about 80 000, we have lost about 2 700 animals thus far to January Disease from beginning of the outbreaks in the province up to December 2025 and cases reported from beginning of the year. About 12 deep tanks are affected out of over 50 deep tanks in the district,” he said.
Dr Zhandire called for farmers to heed compliance to dipping regulations and dipping frequencies, as the Department of Veterinary Services continues to conduct dipping sessions.
He said lately they have witnesses a decline in new cases aided by the vaccination efforts, where over 5 000 animals have been vaccinated in the district.
“So, we are confident that we will eventually get on top of this situation through effective and consistent dipping as well as application and administration of vaccines to prevent the clinical disease in animals,” he said.
A local farmer, Mr Mandla Siwela, said he had lost close to nine cattle to January Disease.
“Sometime last year l lost three cattle to January Disease and currently about six of my cows are missing, which l believe they could have died out there in the bushes due to the disease outbreak in our area,” he said.
Mr Siwela said they were grateful to the Government for the vaccinations and dipping chemicals they have brought to their area and they were hopeful there will be a decrease in cattle deaths.
Village Head for Village 6 in Ward 15 Bubi District, Mr Godfree Siwela reassured Government that they were going to encourage all the farmers to religiously dip their cattle to avoid for deaths.
“We have taken note of Government’s call for farmers to continuously and religiously dip their animals to avoid more cattle deaths in the area. We have been made aware that farmers failing to take their livestock for dipping can be prosecuted, we are going to ensure that farmers take this seriously,” he said.
The January Disease outbreak began towards the end of year 2023 in southern parts of Bubi district (Ntabazinduna/Mbembesi) area as a spillover from Insiza district outbreak. No January Disease cases and deaths formally reported in year 2023.
This was followed by an outbreak in the northern part of Bubi district (Kenilworth HQ/Lukona) area in February 2024.
Disease investigation was carried out that month and cases and deaths due to January Disease started to be submitted to provincial office in the same month.
Sample inflow to laboratory for confirmation of January Disease improved in February 2024. Since beginning of January Disease outbreaks in the province a total 2 195 deaths due to January Disease have been reported.
Out of this total figure, 901 deaths were reported from beginning of the outbreaks in the province up to December 2025 and 1 294 cases were reported this year 2026 from the beginning of the year.
A huge spike in the number of January Disease deaths have been noted so far this year compared to the same period January to February of the year 2024 and 2025.
Reports suggest that this year the outbreaks have covered a bigger area as compared to previous years with spillover of infection from Bubi to Nkayi District noted this year.
