A team of veterinary experts is in the Zambezi Region on a fact-finding mission to establish the cause of cattle deaths in the flood plains of the region.

Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed hemorrhagic septicemia as the cause.

Hemorrhagic septicemia is a disease of water buffalo and cattle in tropical regions caused by specific serotypes of Pasteurella.

Farmers were advised to immediately vaccinate all their healthy cattle against Pasteurella, black quarter, botulism, and anthrax, as such diseases are common during the dry season in the region.

They were also encouraged to regularly control parasites and supplement their livestock to avoid cases of protein, energy, and mineral deficiencies, especially in lactating and pregnant cows, which are mostly affected.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform's Public Relations Officer, Jona Musheko, told nbc News that despite the precautionary measures, the situation has not improved, and this is the reason why a team of veterinary experts was dispatched to the region on Tuesday.

The team will inspect carcasses, especially for cattle that just died, and conduct postmortems to determine the cause of deaths.

Musheko dismissed claims that veterinary service officials have not responded to the situation as they ought to, saying this is not the case.