Anthrax Kills Villagers in Zvimba

Source: Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

Date:4 December , 2005

Author: Anon

Three people died in Zvimba last week, while 90 others were treated after they were suspected of contracting anthrax.

Environmental health officers dispatched to the area said the 90 people were taken to Murombedzi Hospital, where some were treated and later discharged, but others were still detained by late Friday.

According to medical sources in Zvimba, one of the dead, an elderly person, admitted consuming meat from livestock that succumbed to anthrax.

Anthrax is a serious disease affecting sheep and cattle that can be transmitted to humans. The deaths in Zvimba come hot on the heels of reports of an unknown disease that has hit cattle at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono's Donnington farm near Norton.

Sources who visited the farm last Saturday said they saw three carcasses, which were in a decomposing state.

The source said: "We saw about three dead cattle on the sides of the road in the farm. When we asked one of the workers about the animals, he told us they had died because of overfeeding."

Workers at the farm said a sudden transformation from feeding on dry roughage to eating new green grass, growing after the recent rains, might have caused the deaths.

"The cattle have been feeding on dry roughage and they are now eating fresh green grass. That sudden shift might have affected them," said one of the workers.

The farm manager, Chamunorwa Mateyo, confirmed to The Standard that cattle were dying at the farm but was not sure of the cause of death.

"About 20 cattle have died so far, but we have not yet established the cause of death. Over the past months it has been very difficult to find cattle feed. We were feeding the cattle on poultry droppings from Crest Breeders," said Mateyo.

He said there are over 2 000 cattle on the farm.

A livestock specialist said new grass that grows just after the rains is not rich in nutrition for animals because of its high water levels. "Poultry droppings are very rich in nutrition and they are very good for cattle feed. They have got a high protein and urea content and they are commonly fed to cattle," said the expert.

Gono was not immediately available for a comment last week. Aides said he was attending meetings.