Anthrax vaccination starts in Caprivi

THE Ministry of Agriculture has started vaccinating cattle in anthrax-affected areas in eastern Caprivi, a senior official told The Namibian yesterday.

Dr Frans Joubert, the Chief Veterinarian for animal disease control, said the vaccination started last week. He said the Ministry had so far not received any reports of domestic animals dying of anthrax.Joubert said the Ministry was vaccinating cattle in areas such as Bukalo, Izimwe and Balasinte.He said at the moment they were only concentrating on the affected areas, as the vaccine was expensive to import.”We are hoping to get more vaccine so that we can extend it to a larger area,” he said.Meanwhile, the Chief Control Warder for Wildlife Management in Caprivi, Colgar Sikopo, says no further reports of anthrax deaths among wildlife have been received.Last week, Caprivi regional Governor Bernard Sibalatani said 11 wild animals had died of suspected anthrax in the eastern Caprivi since June.This is the same area where the disease broke out last September, leaving more than 50 animals dead.Sibalatani was told by officials from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture last Tuesday that six buffaloes and five elephants found dead in the area along the Chobe River had anthrax symptoms.The carcasses have been burnt.He said this area stretches from Kasika to Masikili, close to Botswana’s Chobe National Park.When anthrax broke out in the region last September, some people were hospitalised after they touched or ate carcasses of animals that died of the disease.People in Caprivi are urged not to touch or eat the meat of animals found dead in the veld.Anthrax is generally of an acute form in wildlife, with animals showing few symptoms before abruptly collapsing and dying.He said the Ministry had so far not received any reports of domestic animals dying of anthrax.Joubert said the Ministry was vaccinating cattle in areas such as Bukalo, Izimwe and Balasinte.He said at the moment they were only concentrating on the affected areas, as the vaccine was expensive to import.”We are hoping to get more vaccine so that we can extend it to a larger area,” he said.Meanwhile, the Chief Control Warder for Wildlife Management in Caprivi, Colgar Sikopo, says no further reports of anthrax deaths among wildlife have been received.Last week, Caprivi regional Governor Bernard Sibalatani said 11 wild animals had died of suspected anthrax in the eastern Caprivi since June.This is the same area where the disease broke out last September, leaving more than 50 animals dead.Sibalatani was told by officials from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture last Tuesday that six buffaloes and five elephants found dead in the area along the Chobe River had anthrax symptoms.The carcasses have been burnt.He said this area stretches from Kasika to Masikili, close to Botswana’s Chobe National Park.When anthrax broke out in the region last September, some people were hospitalised after they touched or ate carcasses of animals that died of the disease.People in Caprivi are urged not to touch or eat the meat of animals found dead in the veld.Anthrax is generally of an acute form in wildlife, with animals showing few symptoms before abruptly collapsing and dying.