By: Pascal Onega

Buliisa

Buliisa District has confirmed an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease affecting livestock in Kabolwa Village, Buliisa Sub-county.

The District Veterinary Officer, Dr. Rashid Mubiru, says the disease has affected cows, pigs, sheep, and goats across several farms.

Farmers first noticed symptoms including high fever, wounds, depression, loss of appetite, weight loss, shivering, sores and blisters on animals’ feet, as well as excessive salivation.

Speaking to our reporter, Dr. Mubiru notes that this is the first reported case since 2018.

The district plans to roll out a mass vaccination exercise for cattle next month to curb the spread of the disease. He says the exercise will follow government guidelines, with farmers meeting the cost of the vaccines.

Farmers have been urged to cooperate with veterinary teams by declaring the correct number of animals they own and to promptly report any suspected cases.

However farmers have expressed fear that the cost might be high hindering the exercise especially to those who have many animals. They asked the government to meet the costs for medicine as it has been done previously.