KAMPALA, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan veterinary experts have confirmed an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants, also known as goat plague, in the three districts of West Nile, the western part of the Northern Region.
Willy Nguma, the principal veterinary officer who is in charge of the Arua regional veterinary laboratory, told Xinhua in a phone interview Friday that tests done Thursday had confirmed cases of goat plague in the districts of Arua, Madi-Okollo, and Terego.
"Many times, it affects the animals' feeding, coming with diarrhea hence loss of weight," Nguma said, adding that the disease, which has an incubation period of 21 days, affects all stages of the age of the animals.
He said affected animals develop high fevers and might have eye and nasal discharges. "It is a disease of economic importance because it causes miscarriage."
The officer said the disease was spreading very fast because of the communal system of grazing where healthy goats share grass with the infected ones. Veterinary teams have already been dispatched to all neighboring districts to gather samples for further management.
Nguma could not confirm the number of animals so far killed by the plague but asked community members not to panic and sell their livestock at half-price.
"The Ministry of Agriculture has already dispatched vaccines. We already have 1,500 vaccines for Terego, 2,000 for Madi-Okollo, and about 2,000 are expected for Arua. This is going to be targeted vaccination," he said. "The situation can be controlled. It is not a disease that will always wipe out our animals."
This is not the first time goat plague has broken out in Uganda. In September last year, the disease hit the central and southwestern parts of the country, killing an unspecified number of animals, according to local media. ■