Uganda Nearing End of Livestock Quarantine
The cattle quarantine against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) may be lifted, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF).
Following an FMD epidemic in Kabowa, Rubaga Division, the Ministry placed quarantine restrictions on Kampala on February 28. The illness then spread to more than 30 districts in the nation, including the districts of Fort Portal, Rakai, Ngora, Kibuku, Bukedea, Butaleja, Mbarara, Kazo, Kiruhura, Kyotera, Gomba, Isingiro, and Luwero.
The ongoing livestock vaccination program has controlled the disease, according to Dr. Anna Rose Ademun, Commissioner of Animal Health at MAAIF, she noted that If no new cases are detected this month (July), the Ministry plans to lift the quarantine.
The quarantine had a notable effect on businesses since it briefly prohibited the transportation of cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and their byproducts.
According to FAO, the livestock industry adds between 1 and 1.5 percent to Uganda’s export trade value in livestock products and live animals, in addition to providing food and other goods and services including manure and draft power. For more than 250 million people in the IGAD region—which includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda—livestock is an important aspect of their economic, social, and cultural lives.
