January 15, 2007

Anthrax kills 200 cattle in Zimbabwe

An outbreak of anthrax in Zimbabwe has killed an estimated 200 cattle in Masvingo, Zimbabwe in the past two months, Harare's "Herald" newspaper reported today.

The newspaper website cited anthrax outbreak could be the biggest threat to Masvingo's efforts to restock its beef herd which was almost halved in 1992 nation-wide drought.

An acute shortage of vaccines was stifling efforts to tame the outbreak. Willard Chiwewe, the Masvingo governor urged the government to prioritise the procurement of anthrax vaccines to contain the outbreak.