BWgovernment NEWCASTLE HITS SEROWE The Department of Animal Health and Production has declared an outbreak of newcastle disease in Serowe and surrounding areas. Assistant scientific officer, Ms Keorapetse Makgabana, said in an interview that the outbreak occurred sometime mid-June and it mostly affected Tswana breed chickens of all ages. Ms Makgabana said her office was alerted by many chicken farmers who reported at their office, adding that the mostly affected areas included Moiyabana, Thabala, Mogorosi and Serowe wards. She explained that Newcastle was a contagious bird disease that could affect many domestic and wild avian species. She noted that the Newcastle disease virus caused mild conjunctivitis and influenza-like symptoms and the disease was transmitted through infected birds’ droppings and secretions from the nose, mouth and eyes. Ms Makgabana said the virus posed no hazard to human health but advised farmers that they should not eat meat of chickens that died on their own. She said no treatment for Newcastle disease virus existed, but the use of prophylactic vaccines and sanitary measures reduced the likelihood of outbreaks. She recommended a yearly vaccination of chicks to prevent the disease. She advised farmers, whose chickens did not show the signs of illness to get the vaccination. Unfortunately, the vaccine was out of stock at the Livestock Advisory Centre in Serowe. Therefore, farmers must go to private suppliers. The Department of Animal Production had since vaccinated about 1 008 chickens in Serowe belonging to beneficiaries of LIMID and poverty eradication programmes. She advised farmers who had lost their chickens to wait until the virus disappeared before they could disinfect their poultry house re-stock. Ms Dipelo Gaofetelwe, a poverty eradication beneficiary at Tshikinyega ward in Serowe said she had been given 25 chickens but only two survived but were showing signs of illness. Ms Gaofetelwe said this was painful as she did not know what would happen next as she planned to survive and support her family with the chickens. “Many of them were laying eggs and I’m now left with eggs,” she said. “My heart is very painful, the virus did not even give my small chicks chance to live as it swept through my yard.” Sharing Ms Gaofetelwe’s pain was Ms Barulaganye Ototeng of Mauba ward, also in Serowe, a beneficiary of LIMID who received 11 chickens but six died. She was hopeful the remaining chickens would survive because they had been vaccinated and showed no sign of the virus. ENDS Source : BOPA
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:46:27 +0000
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