Breaking News: At least 10 feared to have drowned in Makueni river
Worry as strange disease kills over 100 goats in Garissa
Members of the Garissa County locusts response team addressing journalists at the Garissa Farmers Training Center on January 9, 2020. A strange disease has killed several goats in areas affected by the locusts’ invasion. PHOTO | BRUHAN MAKONG | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Livestock feeding on pasture in areas invaded by desert locusts contracted the strange disease.
- Mr Shale revealed that Lagdera, Dadaab and Balambala sub-counties are the ones mostly affected by the locust menace.
- Danyere MCA Daud Aden urged the response team to empower local communities to deal with the locusts.
The County Government of Garissa has dispatched a team of veterinary doctors to areas that were recently invaded by desert locusts following an outbreak of a strange livestock disease.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, County Agriculture Executive Mohamed Abdi Shale said the disease has claimed more than 100 goats in Lagdera and Dadaab.
Mr Shale said that residents reported that livestock feeding on pasture in areas that have been invaded by desert locusts contracted a strange disease that is causing death.
YELLOW MEAT
The agricultural official said that meat from the affected animals is yellow and green in colour, something which has alarmed herders.
He urged locals to avoid eating the meat until tests are done to establish the cause of the disease.
"We have advised the locals to avoid consumption of the meat until veterinary doctors are done with investigations on the disease,'' said Mr Shale.
Mr Shale, who was accompanied by the Garissa County locust response team, revealed that Lagdera, Dadaab and Balambala sub-counties are the ones worst hit by the locust menace.
RESPONSE TEAM
This is after a new colony of desert locusts migrated into the county from Diff in Wajir County and another one from the neighbouring Mandera County.
Mr Shale said that in a bid to contain the flying pests, the response team mobilised volunteers and other tactics to drive away the swarms of locusts.
Garissa Township Deputy County Commissioner Samuel Njuguna said that the national government has deployed a monitoring team and an aeroplane that is spraying the desert locusts.
Danyere MCA Daud Aden urged the response team to empower local communities with the necessary logistical support to help them scare away the locusts.
Mr Aden is the Garissa County Assembly Chairman for Agriculture and Livestock.
