Mysterious outbreak wreaks havok in Filabusi

Simosenkosi Ndlovu

Nkankezi villagers in Filabusi, Insiza District are counting their losses following an unknown devastating outbreak that has killed hundreds of their livestock.

The novel outbreak is said to have been noticed first in  August of 2022 but to date remains a mystery to the bewildered community.

Getrude Ndlovu is still reeling from losing a whole kraal within a week.

“I’m so dejected and I don’t know what to do. My livestock used  to provide labour in the fields and I could sell some to raise my children’s school fees. Now I’m back to farming without livestock and there is too much exertion involved,” she said.

Village head, Martin Morossi said information dissemination is key in dealing with the situation.

“People must use available channels to update each other and take action before the situation spirals out of control. Affected  livestock must be burnt.

Most of us in the villages depend on cattle. What are we without  livestock? We need to find a solution to this.

Out of jealousy, some villagers are unwilling to help others because their own kraals have been emptied by this scourge and therefore would want others to lose their livestock,” said the village head who estimated livestock that has so far succumbed to the mysterious disease to be in the region of 400 cattle.

Initially, villagers thought the disease was caused by ticks and concerted efforts were made to dip all cattle but the dipping only led to more spreading and a proliferation of the disease.

Because they cannot ascertain the origin of the outbreak, villagers are neglecting their  dead livestock causing air and land pollution which  poses a health hazard.

Some villagers have resorted to natural herbs like barks of a tree (umvagazi) to try and minimize the outbreak while some are buying different types of vaccines and medicines to cure the disease but with no real success because the disease remains an enigma.

Due to desperation, Nkankezi villagers are now selling their livestock to butcheries for a song.

The butcheries are also facing difficulty in selling the meat because customers  are afraid of  consuming the  meat, fearing for their health. Village heads have advised their communities not to eat meat from cattle that have died of this strange disease.

Nkankezi Community villages 18A, C, 21, 20, 9 and 10 are the hardest hit.

Nkankezi residents are in a difficult situation and are calling for the government to intervene. Efforts to get a comment from the Veterinary Services in the area proved unfruitful.