Anthrax outbreak in Caprivi spreads to livestock

ANTHRAX, which killed 11 wild animals in the eastern Caprivi two weeks ago, has spread to livestock, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.

Dr Frans Joubert, the Acting Deputy Director for Animal Disease Control in the Ministry of Agriculture, told The Namibian that nine cattle had died of the disease since the beginning of the week. He said the deaths were recorded in the same area where seven elephants and four buffalo succumbed to the disease two weeks ago.Joubert said as a protective measure, the Ministry was now vaccinating all cattle in the anthrax colony and the surrounding areas.The colony covers the area east of Ngoma to Impalila Island.Joubert said the affected area had also been cordoned off and cattle owners were not allowed to move their livestock out of it.He said the vaccination drive would also be extended to the rest of the Caprivi Region.Anthrax is believed to have spread to the Caprivi Region from the Chobe National Park in neighbouring Botswana.Areas in the Caprivi that have been affected so far include Masikili, Kasika, Kabulabula, Mhalasinte and Ivilivinzi.The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has appealed to the residents in the affected areas not to eat meat from the animals dying of anthrax as the disease is highly contagious.He said the deaths were recorded in the same area where seven elephants and four buffalo succumbed to the disease two weeks ago.Joubert said as a protective measure, the Ministry was now vaccinating all cattle in the anthrax colony and the surrounding areas.The colony covers the area east of Ngoma to Impalila Island.Joubert said the affected area had also been cordoned off and cattle owners were not allowed to move their livestock out of it.He said the vaccination drive would also be extended to the rest of the Caprivi Region.Anthrax is believed to have spread to the Caprivi Region from the Chobe National Park in neighbouring Botswana.Areas in the Caprivi that have been affected so far include Masikili, Kasika, Kabulabula, Mhalasinte and Ivilivinzi.The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has appealed to the residents in the affected areas not to eat meat from the animals dying of anthrax as the disease is highly contagious.