Lavushimanda reports no Anthrax cases in Livestock

The Department of Fisheries and Livestock in Lavushimanda District of Muchinga Province says it has not recorded any cases of anthrax in livestock. Lavushimanda District Livestock and Fisheries Coordinator Abia Siwiti said the district has been conducting annual mass livestock…

The Department of Fisheries and Livestock in Lavushimanda District of Muchinga Province says it has not recorded any cases of anthrax in livestock.

Lavushimanda District Livestock and Fisheries Coordinator Abia Siwiti said the district has been conducting annual mass livestock vaccination campaigns to prevent outbreaks of diseases, following anthrax cases recorded in Muchinga Province in 2023.

Speaking in an interview with the media after a stakeholders’ meeting, Mr Siwiti said the department has embarked on a vaccination exercise targeting more than 5,000 livestock following an anthrax outbreak recorded in Mpika and Shiwang’andu districts.

He said government has provided the district with 6,000 doses of anthrax vaccine for livestock.

“For Lavushimanda, no cases have been reported yet in the livestock sector,” Mr Siwiti said.

He added that sensitisation activities would also be conducted in communities to raise awareness about the anthrax outbreak and the livestock vaccination exercise.

Meanwhile, Lavushimanda District Public Health Officer Jackson Daka said government has put in place measures, including the Incident Management System (IMS), One Health meetings and Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), to enhance public awareness and response to the outbreak at provincial and district levels.

Mr Daka said the Ministry of Health has also collected human and animal samples in Mpika, which have been sent to Lusaka for testing.

“On planning and coordination, they have done IMS and RRTs,” he said.

Mr Daka thanked government, through the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI), for facilitating the meeting and bringing stakeholders together to discuss the anthrax outbreak affecting the province.

He said the meeting was important because Mpika is a neighbouring district and is close to Lavushimanda, making the district vulnerable to the spread of the disease.

“It was very important for Lavushimanda to hold this meeting so that we can come up with ways to educate the community,” Mr Daka said.

Mr Daka added that the meeting would help stakeholders conduct sensitisation activities to ensure communities remain alert and take preventive measures against the disease.

Anthrax is a zoonotic and highly infectious disease that can be transmitted through contact with infected animals or consumption of contaminated meat.