No case of foot and mouth disease in Central Tongu

Dr Jeffery Elorm Akortia, the District Veterinary Officer for Central Tongu, said the District has not recorded any case of foot and mouth disease in cattle.

“We depend on some dams in South Tongu for water in the dry season, that is why we have been observing all the cattle that depend on those dams and so far, there are no symptoms of the disease raised by farmers yet”, he said.

About a week ago, veterinary officers in South Tongu suspected the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the District following the death of a calf with some 200 cattle said to have shown some signs of the disease in that District.

Dr Akortia, in an interview with Ghana News Agency, said cattle farmers in Central Tongu are still undergoing education on how to treat animals affected with foot and mouth disease.

Mr Ruben Akuffo, Central Tongu District Coordinating Director, said the District Assembly has been holding frequent meetings with the Agriculture Department to ensure they were prepared for any outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

“We had several meetings with the departments that mostly suffer during the dry season, that is, Fire Service Department, Food and Agriculture Department and Health Service to find out their preparedness to tackle occurrences as we approach the dry season”, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Ruben Adase, South Tongu District Director of Agriculture, said veterinary officers and Agricultural Extension officers were on the field monitoring and observing animals and called for support of all, especially farmers.