The Mozambican animal health department in Maputo province has launched a campaign to vaccinate more than 66,000 head of cattle against foot-and-mouth disease in the districts of Magude and Moamba, reports Friday's issue of the daily paper "Noticias".
The move was prompted by the frequent entry of wild animals such as buffaloes from South Africa's Kruger Park into these two districts.
Cattle in these districts are normally vaccinated twice a year but, because of the wave of wild animals entering the country, which are believed to be carrying the foot-and-mouth virus, the authorities decided to launch the present campaign.
Alongside the vaccination, the authorities are also monitoring the movements of the herds to detect the onset of the disease, and prevent any serious losses to local farmers.
As part of these activities, the Mozambican authorities collected 70 samples of cattle products for laboratory analysis in South Africa, and the results showed no evidence of any infection.
The head of the Maputo provincial animal health services, Americo da Conceicao, said that taking into account the limited capacity of intervention in the event of an outbreak of the disease, the authorities have decided to invest in prevention and monitoring.
"About 80 per cent of cattle in Maputo province belong to the family sector, who are the major cattle breeders. We want to protect them", he said.
Conceicao noted that "before the war, Maputo had some 400,000 head of cattle, a figure that dropped to only 20,000 by the end of the conflict, a reduction of 95 per cent. Thanks to several restocking projects, involving various partners, including NGOs and the private sector, we now have 103,000 head of cattle, and we will continue this trend, because we feel we are doing the right thing".
The government is distributing about 1,500 head of cattle in Maputo province every year, and this month alone is providing 200 of them to the family sector in the districts of Matutuine, Manhica, Namaacha, and Boane.
Fonte: AIM
