MKHONYWANA PRE-OUTBREAK: GOVT ISSUES WARNING ON INFECTED MEAT

MBABANE – Following a pre-outbreak of black quarter animal disease, known as ‘Mkhonywana’, government has warned members of the public not to consume infected meat from cattle, goats and sheep.

The Ministry of Agriculture issued the warning following reports that some farmers confessed to having eaten infected meat. Some farmers said they had been consuming meat infected with Mkhonywana over the years, not knowing its dangers. Dr Xolani Dlamini, the Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, said they had received reports of a pre-outbreak in places such as Ngculwini, Ngogola and Pigg’s Peak. He said some livestock had been reported dead as a result of black quarter, even though the statistics had not been collected.

Outbreak

Dlamini said reported cases showed a possibility of the country experiencing an outbreak, as it also happened in 2022, if not attended to with immediate effect. Black quarter is an acute, highly fatal disease of cattle and sheep caused by Clostridiumchauvoei. In cattle, it is characterised by the swelling of the lesions of emphysematous, swelling of the musculature often developed without a history of wound. Dlamini highlighted three dangers of consuming meat from animals infected with black quarter. The director said people who consumed infected meat would be infected in the long-run. Dlamini said about 70 per cent of the bacteria found in cattle were shared among human beings and this exposed them to the same infection. He further said at the time the livestock died from black quarter, there were also other underlying diseases within the carcass, most likely to affect the consumer of the meat. Dlamini highlighted that farmers tried, by all means, to ensure that their infected livestock never died by vaccinating it.

Infected

He said despite all those efforts by farmers, some of the infected livestock died a few days after vaccination. Dlamini pointed out the tragedy where he said some farmers ate the infected meat a few days after it had been vaccinated. “It is dangerous to eat the carcass a few days after it has been vaccinated,” he said. The director said feeding on an infected carcass a few days after it had been vaccinated led to patients developing antibiotic resistance when receiving treatment in health facilities. The National Institute of Health (NIH) says antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve to evade the effect of antibiotics through multiple mechanism. Certain bacteria are able to neutralise an antibiotic by altering its component to render it ineffective. Dlamini said: “The antibiotics used in treating cattle as well as human beings are closely related, such that in the long-run, the person who ate the carcass a few days after its vaccination, might have difficulties in getting treatment in health facilities because the body had become resistant to antibiotics.”

Consuming

Furthermore, the director stated that people who continued to consume the carcass infected with black quarter were also likely to have their livers and kidneys destroyed as the years progressed. According to the director, some people, who have been diagnosed with kidney and liver conditions, it is as a result of consuming meat from animals that die a few days after they had been vaccinated. As one way of getting rid of the infected carcass rather than consuming it, the director said burying it was the best option. “People must hire a tractor loader backhoe (TLB) to assist them in getting rid of the animals killed by black quarter. They can also come with other alternatives such as using digging spades and pick axes if they do not have enough money to hire a TLB. They can also burn the carcass,” he explained.

Vaccination of livestock has been highlighted by the director as the best preventative measure. He pleaded with farmers to come together to raise funds to buy the necessary medication to be used in treating such a disease. “Prevention is better than cure. We do have medication which can be used to treat multiple diseases like black quarter, foot and mouth and botulism in livestock. The success rate of treating an already infected animal is low,” said the director. Dlamini said Eswatini once had black quarter outbreak in 2022. He said this when asked to state when last the country had an outbreak of this nature. He said in 2022, a number of livestock died in the country. He further stated that 2023 was much better as compared to 2022 in as far as livestock loss was concerned.

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