An unknown disease is decimating cattle in Moamba, to the consternation of the more than 3,000 breeders in that part of Maputo province, Mozambique.
The most worrying cases are registered in the villages of Mukakaza 1 and 2, where two to three animals a day are dying of the so-far undiagnosed disease.
Breeders suspect that the disease is transmitted by wild animals, probably buffalo, which frequent pastures and watering places used by cattle.
Moamba breeders say they have lost more than 130 head of cattle to the disease in the last three years.
The Maputo Provincial Director of Agriculture and Fisheries says that the livestock sector is aware of the situation and is working to identify the disease.
In Maputo province, the diseases most often affecting cattle are theileriosis and foot-and-mouth disease.
Moamba district is the second-largest cattle breeding centre in Maputo province, after Magude, with around 75 000 registered cattle.
