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Anthrax threat: Kyotera farmers, leaders clash over animal burial

A cattle keeper grazes animals. Kyotera leaders have cautioned farmers to observe health guidelines to avoid the spread of Anthrax. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Some farmers claim burying the animals is very expensive since it requires many safety measures. 

Leaders and a section of farmers in Kyotera are divided over who should be responsible for the safe burial of animals that die of Anthrax in the district.

While a section of the farmers are appealing for government support to dispose of the dead animals, the LC5 chairperson, Mr Kintu Kisekulo, said its the farmers’ responsibility since the district has no special budget to conduct the burial and burning of the carcasses.

“Our major responsibility has been to conduct sensitisation on how to handle the dead animals. It is not the duty of the local government to visit the farmers and conduct the burials. We do not have that budget. The people agitating for such services are possibly selfish and want the district to carry out activities outside our set budgets,” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Mr Apollo Mugume, the Resident District Commissioner and head of the district Anthrax management taskforce, said the farmers were given telephone numbers, including that of the district veterinary officer among other officials for emergency response.

“The district has trained teams ready to help the farmers in management of the dead animals. There is no cause for alarm because we even have the Uganda Red Cross teams that are helping the farmers with the sensitisation in the management of the dead animals. We cannot rule out the fact that the disease is a big scare but the vaccination programme is now at 70 percent in most of the affected areas,” he said.

In November last year, authorities in the district declared an outbreak of  the disease, which mainly attacks cattle.

Farmers in Kabira Sub-county claim that some of the dead animals have been buried in shallow pits that are only three-feet, giving stray dogs a chance to dig up the carcasses thus spreading the disease.

Mr Enos Mugisha, a farmer at Bukaala Village in Kabira Sub-county, said burying one animal is very expensive since it requires digging a 6-feet pit.

“Making the pit, the lime and the procedures to make sure that nobody contracts the disease in the process of handling the carcass is expensive. The team conducting the burial needs protective gear, including gloves, overall, face mask among other items,” he said.

 Mr Mugisha said several farmers that have lost animals only dig 3-feet pits  risk exposing the disease to the population. He proposed that incineration would be the best method.

The Kabira LC3 chairperson, Mr Richard Kalanzi, said some farmers are not following the safety guidelines.

Dr Joseph Kasumba, a veterinary officer from the Uganda Red Cross Society early this week said the recommended and safe pit for burial of the dead animals should be at least 6-feet deep, while the burial should be conducted under the required safety guidelines to avoid exposures to the disease.

“If the animal dies in a place where a pit cannot be dug, there are precautions that have to be taken.For instance when the animal needs to be relocated, you have to make sure that the openings of the carcass are sealed so that there is no un clotting blood that spills at the farm,”  Dr Kasumba said.

Ms Irene Nakasiita, the Uganda Red Cross communications officer, called for continuous sensitisation of management of the dead animals.

“During our inspection of the affected areas, we realised that people are not doing well in burying the dead animals, we are going to look into our resources and see how we can support people to fully manage the disposal of the carcasses,” she said.

Anthrax was declared in Kyotera on November 26 last year after test results revealed the presence of the disease in Kabira, Kasasa and Lwankoni sub-counties.

District authorities estimate that about 18 people have succumbed to the Anthrax since September last year.