Mysterious disease kills hundreds of cattle in Khost

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok):  A mysterious disease, which is spreading fast, has killed hundreds of cattle in southeastern Khost province, residents and government officials say.

The infectious disease, the cause of which is not yet clear, has killed hundreds of animals, mostly cows, in the city and districts during the past two weeks, officials say.

Mastha Nur, a resident of Tarkhel village of Tanai district, said since last few days, around 16 cows have died due to the mysterious disease in his village alone. He told Pajhwok one of his milking cows also died due to the disease.

He added: "This is a kind of disease that affects cows, it causes pimples, then the animals can't even hold their legs, they fall, and finally the cow loses its energy and dies. The government should diagnose this disease and give vaccines to the cows."

On the other hand, officials of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock of Khost say that this disease has spread to almost all areas of Khost and is still spreading.

Deputy director of the department Maulvi Adil told Pajhwok that they had started a public awareness campaign with the help of veterinarians to prevent the disease and had also requested vaccines from Kabul.

He added the animal disease had not been diagnosed yet, but their teams were working to diagnose it and prevent its spread.

At the same time, Director of Public Health Dr. Fazal Karim Manduzi, said it was a viral disease that easily transmitted from one animal to another.

He told Pajhwok that the symptoms of this disease had not been seen in humans, but he added that it could be transmitted to humans in case of direct contact with animals or eating the meat of sick animals.

He added: "The animal should not be touched and if the diseased animal is slaughtered, we do not allow the people to eat its meat."

On the other hand, the director of information and culture, Shabir Ahmad Usmani, asked the people to cooperate with the municipality in burying animals that died due to the infectious disease.

He says that if these animals were not buried,  other animals might also be infected, which would be very difficult to control.

He added that animals which died of the disease were dumped in natural steams, deserts and other places by their owners and municipality workers were burying them since last three days.

Khost municipality also issued a statement, asking the people to contact professional veterinarians if their animals suffered from the said dieses and bury the dead animals.

The statement also warned butchers against slaughtering sick animals and selling their meat. If anyone slaughtered a sick animal and sold its meat to the public, his shop would be closed and a fine imposed.

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