By Shuaib Sadiq
Kaduna, March 5, 2019 (NAN) The Kaduna State Government said that an outbreak of Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia (CBPP) had killed 368 cattle in different parts of the state.
It added that 764 others spread across the state are in critical condition.
Malam Dahiru Abdullahi, the Information Officer in the state’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Tuesday.Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (also known as lung plague), is a contagious bacterial disease that afflicts the lungs of cattle, buffalo, zebu, and yaks.According to Abdullahi, the infected herds are being treated by the ministry.
He said: “The State Government has procured drugs and vaccines and they are being distributed to all the veterinary clinics in all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
“The Veterinary Department of the ministry had investigated through various laboratory tests of blood samples of some affected cows.
“The results confirmed that it was CBPP and as a result different measures have been taken by the ministry to contain the outbreak.”
It will be recalled that a strange zoonotic disease, which broke out in Kachia, Kagarko, and Kubau LGAs had affected the animals in some communities in the aforementioned areas of the state.
According to the information officer, the state government has already deployed experienced veterinary doctors and other experts to treat the affected cattle.
He said that the experts were working assiduously to ensure that the disease did not spread to other parts of the state.
NAN reports that some of the symptoms of CBPP in animals include dilation of the nostrils; frothy saliva at the mouth; “grunting” when exhaling or coughing; as well as laboured and painful breathing.
Other symptoms include nasal discharge; panting; and standing with the head and neck extended.
Experts say infected cows may take up to three years to fully recover even with constant treatment.
NAN reports that the disease is spread by direct contact with an infected animal,”through infected droplets in the breath. (NAN)
