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Bulawayo Bureau

Although much work has been done to spread dipping, tick grease and vaccination, Zimbabwe still faces a threat to its cattle industry from Theileriosis or January disease, a tick-borne disease that has killed around 500 000 cattle since 2016.

The disease is spread by the brown ear tick, which is most active between December and March, hence the name January disease. The only effective way to prevent the disease is to regularly dip the cattle in acaricide, a chemical that kills ticks.

It got its initial hold since many farmers had stopped following the recommended dipping regime due to various reasons, such as lack of acaricide, water shortages, and economic challenges. This has resulted in a massive loss of cattle and potential revenue for the country, estimated at US$225 million.

It is being beaten back by the rigorous dipping, but this needs all farmers in each area to comply and apply continuous pressure to make sure dipping proceeds everywhere. The Government has announced that it will aggressively enforce the Cattle Cleansing Regulations Act of 1993, which makes dipping of cattle mandatory and provides for prosecution of non-compliant farmers.

According to the Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri, farmers who fail to adhere to the dipping regime might face challenges in accessing bank loans and be fined US$50 per beast not dipped.

Speaking at the Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers)’s Sunday News Effective Livestock Disease Management Conference in Bulawayo yesterday, Prof Jiri said:

“It is important to tackle January disease. Since 2016, about 500 000 cattle have succumbed to January disease. This translates to an estimated US$255 million that the country has lost in potential revenue. We need to get back to pre-2016 when farmers adhered to dipping regimes. The most effective way of dealing with January disease is through dipping and other measures such as tick grease application are ancillary efforts.

“We lost so much money and revenue to a disease that could have been avoided. January disease is man-made because we stopped dipping our livestock. We should now enforce the laws. Those who refuse to dip cattle should be dealt with decisively. For instance, a US$50 fine should be levied on people who don’t dip their cattle. Also farmers who do not dip should face challenges when they seek to borrow from banks. They should first clear their dipping fines,” he said.

The conference was held under the theme: “Reviving the Livestock Sector for Vision 2030: Tackling the Theileriosis (January) disease.”

Theileriosis is one of the four major tick-borne diseases in the country, along with Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and heart water. More than 65 percent of cattle deaths in Zimbabwe are caused by tick-borne diseases.

Signs of an animal affected by January disease include swelling of the lymph nodes under the ears and on the shoulder, cloudiness of the eyes, and difficulty in breathing with froth coming from the nose and mouth, and collapse and death within a few days. January disease is a notifiable disease in Zimbabwe and suspected farmers are compelled by the law to report to the Division of Veterinary Services.

Efforts to resuscitate the livestock sector and then see it grow to new levels continue to gather traction with the Government implementing several measures aimed at boosting production to satisfy national demand for both human consumption and industrial use.

The livestock sector contributes significantly to the inclusive growth and development of the national economy.

Under the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan, the Government was concerned with the level of performance of the livestock sector and it promulgated a blueprint to address all areas that were limiting growth.

Observed challenges were associated with animal health, sanitary and feed safety issues, availability of adequate nutrition in the way of pastures, fodder and water, and improvements in the genetic makeup of the herd.

These challenges are responsible for the low off-take, low fertility, high mortality and morbidity, low carcass weight, poor quality and inability to effectively compete on the export market.

Government is working on increasing the production of the Bolvac Vaccine for Theileriosis (January disease) to 900 000 doses from next year up from 300 000 doses produced this year, as the Second Republic continues to heighten efforts to fight the disease.

Livestock production is an integral part of the lives of the majority of the Zimbabwean population. The livestock sector is an important source of livelihoods and contributes significantly to the growth of the agriculture sector and the economy as well as food and nutrition security.