Overview:
According to Dr. Angella Anyongyeire, the Kabale District Veterinary Officer, 15 samples collected from sick goats in the Kitumba and Kyanamira sub-counties were sent to the National Animal Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology Centre for laboratory analysis, and all tested positive for both diseases.
A confirmed outbreak of Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV), also known as goat plague, and Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) has been reported in Kabale District. According to Dr. Angella Anyongyeire, the Kabale District Veterinary Officer, 15 samples collected from sick goats in the Kitumba and Kyanamira sub-counties were sent to the National Animal Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology Centre for laboratory analysis, and all tested positive for both diseases.
Dr. Anyongyeire explained on Monday that although the samples were collected from only two sub-counties, the outbreak is believed to be affecting goats across the entire district. She has urged farmers keeping goats and sheep to adopt strict biosecurity measures, including avoiding communal grazing, isolating sick animals, disinfecting watering points, and avoiding mixed-herd pastures to curb the spread of the diseases and protect their livelihoods.
The veterinary department is now mobilizing a district-wide vaccination campaign targeting both goats and sheep. Dr. Anyongyeire has also called on livestock farmers to embrace the vaccination drive once it begins to prevent further spread. Dickson Kamuhanda, a farmer and councillor representing Nyombe Parish in Kahungye Sub-county, says more than 70 goats and sheep have already died in the area, showing signs consistent with the diseases confirmed by authorities.
Leo Vanansi Tumwikiriize, a resident of Kasiru Village in Nyombe Parish, says he has lost nine goats in recent weeks, all of which exhibited symptoms of goat plague. PPRV is a highly contagious viral disease that affects sheep and goats, causing fever, mouth sores, pneumonia, and diarrhoea.
CCPP is also a severe respiratory disease of goats and is caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae. This is not the first such outbreak in the area. The diseases were previously confirmed in Kabale District in October 2022 after killing hundreds of goats and sheep. In November 2017, a similar outbreak was reported in neighbouring Rubanda District, where dozens of goats and sheep died.
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