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Dar City reassured on cow meat safety
2007-03-22 09:05:12
By Pascal Shao
Meat consumers in Dar es Salaam have been assured that all cattle and other livestock entering the city for slaughter from Dodoma and other upcountry regions are free from Rift Valley Fever and fit for human consumption.
Egbert Shashi, Pugu Livestock Market Zoo Sanitary Inspector, told The Guardian in an interview on Tuesday that so far none of the cattle has tested RVF positive.
He added that the Pugu market, the biggest in Dar es Salaam, had not received cattle from Dodoma Region for three days running.
Commenting on the safety measures taken, the official said: ``All cattle and goats passing through the Pugu market are thoroughly screened by veterinary officers right in the areas where the livestock originate from.
They are checked for RVF and other diseases like anthrax, tuberculosis and other diseases,`` he said.
He explained that it is only after the clinical examination that permission is given to transport the animals to wherever they are meant to go.
On reaching the Pugu market, he said, another clinical inspection for diseases is carried out and any animals that test positive are immediately quarantined.
Shashi stated that a cow or goat with the RVF virus dies within six hours of being infected, adding: ``The fact that some of the animals stay at the market for up to one week gives no room for the disease to cross over to Dar es Salaam.``
According to the inspector, the Pugu market receives cattle mainly from Kishapu in Shinyanga Region, Rujewa in Mbeya Region, Sumbawanga in Rukwa Region, Mwanza, Singida and Tabora.
Another zoo sanitary inspector, Raphael Mzeru, said infected cattle could be identified physically without clinical testing because they usually catch flu and the problem is compounded by bleeding.
He said that if safety measures were adhered to from the time the animals are bought right to the slaughtering stage, diseases such as RVF would be contained well before the meat and related products reach consumers.
According to Mzeru, many deaths occur because people consume carcasses without consulting veterinary officers expert advice.
For his part, Dar es Salaam Meat Traders Association secretary general Mohamed Mbonde swore that they always ensure that all the meat supplied to consumers is safe by insisting that all animals are thoroughly screened before and after they are slaughtered.
``When the animals are sold, both sellers and buyers make sure that the animals undergo inspection before leaving the market and only thereafter is a movement permit issued,`` he noted.
A total of 16 people, all but three in Dodoma Region, have died of RVF since the disease was first reported last month. Another 80 are admitted to the Dodoma Regional Hospital, reportedly suffering from diseases with symptoms similar to those of RVF.
The disease has also been reported in Arusha, Manyara and Tanga regions.
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