DILI, 22 december 2023 (TATOLI) – Between April and August, 505 cattle were slaughtered because they were infected with brucellosis, a disease caused by bacteria of the Brucella genus and transmissible to humans.
The data, from a study carried out by the National Veterinary Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry, was released by the Head of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Felisiano da Conceição, on the sidelines of the seminar ‘The role of approaches to animal diseases in border areas and exotic and zoonotic diseases in cattle,’ which took place at the Institute of Business, (IOB) in Fomento, Dili.
“Of the 1,046 cattle tested, an average of ten for each suco in the municipalities of Bobonaro, Covalima and Oé-Cusse, 505 were infected with brucellosis,” said Conceição.
He said that these figures are not only alarming from an economic point of view but also for public health since brucellosis is a disease that, although it mainly affects animals, is also transmissible to humans through contact with sick animals and the ingestion of raw milk and dairy products from contaminated animals.
Conceição explained that one of the main measures to control the disease is the vaccination of young animals, saying so far, there are no drugs for the treatment of the disease in Timor-Leste: “Isolation and the slaughter of infected animals are the only measures that can be applied in the country.”
Zeferino Loco Bere, Head of Manapa Village, in the administrative post of Cailaco, in the municipality of Bobonaro, emphasized the importance of carrying out awareness campaigns on health prophylaxis measures so that the population acquires habits that contribute to controlling the disease, such as disinfecting stables, isolating animals at the time of calving and destroying placentas.
Journalist: Camilo de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
