By Andrew Irumba
All people who enjoy eating pork in Western Uganda and nearby areas are living in fear after a swine fever outbreak being reported in Ibanda district.
Dr. Ronald Wamala, the Ibanda District Veterinary Officer, said Thursday that the fever has so far claimed over 200 pigs in the district and is likely to spread to nearby districts.
Wamala said “The most affected are Ibanda Municipality, Nyamarebe Sub county and Ishongororo town council.”
He therefore cautioned farmers to desist from moving pigs from one area to another, saying it will spread the disease further.
He advised pig farmers to take precautions since the fever has the capacity to kill all the animals that get affected, plus the farmers themselves.
Serenah Ayebare, one of the affected farmers, said she lost 10 pigs to the disease. Joyce Kataate, another farmer, said the fever is killing pig at a very high rate.
She said they initially thought that it was a different disease until the District Veterinary Office confirmed that it was the African swine fever outbreak.
African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and exhaustion in pigs.
The disease is a highly infectious and infected pigs must be slaughtered and their carcasses buried or incinerated.
Human who eat pork from an infected pig also stand higher chances of catching the fever, which kills very quickly and doesn’t easily respond to medication.
Thus all pork consumers who enjoy what is locally known as ‘Ekikalaya’ have been cautioned to watch out for their dear lives.
