Concern over unregulated cattle

Cattle crossing from Sudan into Gambela, western Ethiopia, are spreading various cattle diseases, because they are coming from unregulated areas, civil servants and residents in the district have complained. The head of the Gambela Animal Health and Animal Products Marketing Team, David Uwar, said thousands of heads of cattle had come into the Gacao, Akobo and Dima districts without having been quarantined, and were therefore causing the spread of diseases such as Bovarian TB and Trypanosomiasis, the pro-Ethiopian government Walta Information Centre said on Monday. He expressed fears for the possible resurgence of rinderpest, which Ethiopia is reported to have controlled, Walta said. The official said the bureau was discussing the situation with the regional state government in an attempt to contain the spread of the diseases. Paul Rossiter, regional livestock coordinator for FAO, told IRIN that there was movement of cattle across the Sudan-Ethiopia border every year, and that the main concern would be regarding rinderpest, which is capable of killing cattle in large numbers. Rossiter said rinderpest was widely believed to exist in southeastern Sudan - one of the last remaining pockets of the disease in the world. “Rinderpest is only known to be present in three or four places in the world,” he said. According to Rossiter, Ethiopia has not had any cases of rinderpest for six years and has stopped vaccinating against the disease. As the cattle were coming from areas in Sudan where there was “very much less control” over health than in Ethiopia, the livestock could bring in “several nasty diseases”, like foot-and-mouth disease, Rossiter said. However, because the other diseases were also present in Ethiopia, the most serious concern would be the rinderpest issue, he explained.