Malawi has suspended importation of animals and beef from neighbouring Tanzania to curb prospects of rift valley disease drifting into the country, health and agriculture officials said. The disease, currently claiming the lives of people and animals in Tanzania and other East African countries, has registered several cases in the Mbeya area of Tanzania, which borders Malawi. Media reports in Tanzanian say the disease originated from Kenya before drifting into the Kilimanjaro area in late January this year.
Malawi's Director of Animal Health and Industry in the Ministry of Agriculture,Wilfred Lipita, said government had banned livestock importation, especially cattle. "We know about that problem in Tanzania and we have increased surveillance along the areas bordering Tanzania. This disease is like malaria of cattle but is indeed transferable to human beings," he said.
He said human beings can get the disease through biting insects like mosquitoes, contact with blood (meat) of infected animals, or when one touches the blood of a person affected. "Not all who fall sick die, but some do indeed die, just like is the case with malaria," Lipita said.
The ban and intensified surveillance from government officials has affected the business of Malawian traders who cross the border into Tanzania to buy livestock in Mbeya.
Daily Times
To ease your site search, article categories are at bottom of page.
