Mathatisi Sebusi
FARMERS in six of Lesotho’s ten districts are losing their livestock in the hundreds due to a bluetongue (BT) disease outbreak.
From the beginning of March when the outbreak started to rear its ugly head to date, BT has already claimed 353 sheep while 1882 remain infected, according to statistics collated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition.
The affected districts are Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing, Maseru, Berea and Leribe.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition has warned that due to severe rains that were followed by high temperatures, farmers across the country should brace themselves for the worst, as the BT outbreak advances across all ten districts.
Addressing the National Assembly on the blue-tongue outbreak on Tuesday 19 March 2024, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Thabo Mofosi, said there might be a significantly higher number of affected livestock, than what had been reported.
He said this was because most farmers did not report such issues to his ministry. While the disease affected all livestock, it was mostly sheep that were bearing the biggest brunt.
Bluetongue is a viral disease affecting domestic and wild animals. It primarily affects sheep, cattle, goats, buffalo, and deer.
The disease is transmitted through mosquito bites.
Bluetongue symptoms include ulcers or sores around the mouth and nose, discharge from eyes or nose and drooling from mouth, as well as swelling of the lips, tongue, head and neck and the coronary band.
Mr Mofosi said the disease was spread by mosquitoes which bred in large numbers because of heavy rains from November 2023 through January 2024, and the high temperatures that followed, which Lesotho continues to experience.
Mr Mofosi also informed the House that his ministry, had already deployed officials to affected areas to administer medication on infected animals free of charge.
He said the ministry had received reports that around 353 sheep had already died and 1882 were reportedly infected by the disease.
He said while the disease affected all livestock, it had been reported to be severe in sheep.
“The ministry believes that numbers of livestock which have been affected by the disease could be higher than the reported numbers, considering that not all farmers report when their livestock is affected by diseases or die in high numbers,” Mr Mofosi said.
“We call upon all farmers to approach the ministry of agriculture and food security offices at district level, to report the challenges they encounter so that they can be assisted accordingly.”
Mr Mofosi said medication for animals which were already affected was available at the Department of Livestock. Veterinarians from different districts had been given the medication based on the needs of each district.
“Because of the intensity of this disease, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, has decided to administer medication on all affected animals free of charge. But expectation is that after fighting the current disease, farmers will buy their own medicine to prevent further infections or reinfections,” Mr Mofosi said.
The minister also warned farmers against using prevention medicine on animals that were already infected as that would worsen their situation.
Meanwhile, Poulo Shea, a Matsieng, Ha-Taka, farmer who spoke to the Sunday Express recently, told this publication that his livestock had been ravaged by the disease, which they (farmers) had no idea how to cure.
He said only this month, he had already lost at least 10 sheep and three cattle.
He said their symptoms included swelling heads and glands, red eyes and nose, and severe mucus discharges.
Mr Shea said the outbreak had affected all Matsieng, Ha-Taka villages. There was no day that went by “without one if not all of the community members” losing their livestock to the disease.
He said the meat of the dead animals had a unique redness. As a result, they were not consuming it, preferring to feed it to dogs.
“Our concern is, if we do not get medication on time, we might lose all the livestock we have to this foreign disease,” Mr Shea said.
Popular Mokhotlong wool and mohair trader, Khotsang Moshoeshoe, said everything should be done to avoid the disease spreading to other regions that had not been affected.
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