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The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has decentralised the laboratory-based surveillance of animal diseases as part of efforts to enhance the diagnostic processes, a senior official has said.
In a statement, DVS chief director Dr Pious Makaya warned livestock farmers to be warry of a general increase in animal diseases due to the rainfall being received throughout the country.
These include internal and external parasite infestations, foot borne, tick borne and soil borne diseases such as black leg and anthrax.
Dr Makaya said four major tick borne diseases affected the country, among them heart water, January disease and red water.
“In response to this, DVS is upscaling the laboratory-based surveillance of animal diseases across the country, that is why DVS managed to decentralise the diagnostic process to the provinces which include Manicaland, Masvingo, Gwanda, Bulawayo and Midlands,” he said.
“All this was done to make sure that the diagnostic process is brought near the farmer to enhance disease surveillance across the country and that is very important especially during this rainy season when there is an upsurge of different types of diseases. It is very important to make sure that the lab- based surveillance system goes down next to the farmer.”
He said there are plans to take the programme to the districts when resources are made available.
Dr Makaya also advised livestock farmers to de-worm their animals during this time to reduce both internal and external infestation.
He said due to the impact of drought, most animals are in a poor state and farmers should not de-worm those in very poor conditions because the drugs used are strong and the animals might die.
In an effort to curb foot borne diseases, Dr Makaya said his department is going to upscale the veterinary public health operations such as increasing the inspection and certification of abattoirs, milk processing plants, among other measures.
“When it comes to other vector borne disease like tripanosomiasis which is transmitted by tsetse fly, the Tsetse Control department will upscale its operations in all those tsetse infested areas to ensure that the tsetse fly is actually kept at its minimum,” he said.
Livestock is a major source of livelihood, especially for rural communities, but faces significant threats, including water shortages, pasture scarcity, increased disease-induced mortality, and panic selling by communities.
To address disease surveillance and management, the government has targeted 1 620 ward centers, home to 2,5 million cattle.
Initiatives include providing spray racers at ward centres, conducting disease surveillance, and deploying ward focal persons.
Other initiatives include the provision of 7,6 million hay bales to feed more than one million animals in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands, and Masvingo provinces.
Silage production is being promoted to enhance milk production. Productivity is estimated to improve from 12 to 18 litres per cow per day. The programme aims to reduce the cost of production in the dairy sector, which accounts for 70 percent of the total cost of producing a liter of milk. The target is to benefit 2 000 small to medium-holder dairy farmers. — New Ziana/Business Reporter
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