The Directorate of Veterinary Services has issued an urgent notification to farmers regarding an outbreak of lung sickness in Opuwo Urban, Kunene Region.

State veterinarian Kahepako Mungunda stated that they have recorded eight cases of lung sickness and one death.

Lung sickness is a highly contagious disease that primarily affects cattle and water buffalo, causing significant economic losses due to its high mortality rate, which can reach up to 50%.

The disease impacts the lungs and thoracic cavity membranes, leading to symptoms such as fever, laboured or rapid breathing, coughing, and, in some cases, a nasal discharge.

"We are at Okapundja, and what is going on behind me is that we are doing surveillance as well as vaccination of cattle against CBPP, which is known as lung sickness (contagious bovine pleuropneumonia). We are at the foresight village or crush pan, where we have tested only in one herd, positive; about eight, now nine cattle have tested positive, and one animal died in this month of July," said Dr. Mungunda. 

Dr. Mungunda is encouraging farmers to ensure that they always get their cattle vaccinated because diseases such as these can spread quickly. 

"Our plea to the farmers is that they have to ensure that their animals are vaccinated annually. Currently, we are only vaccinating those cattle that were not vaccinated in the just-ended vaccination campaign that ended on May 31st, 2024." 

A farmer from Ohingaipuire, Hepute Ndjanduu, commended the government for its efforts to meet them halfway. 

"Since the drought that killed many of our cattle, we brought the remaining cattle to get vaccinated against this disease. We solemnly survive on our cattle, and without them, there's nothing we can do. So we thank the government for coming to our aid to vaccinate the remaining cattle."