Swine fever leaves trail of losses, concerns in Moshi

An open air butchery in rural Tanzania. An outbreak of African Swine Fever is wrecking havoc on livelihoods of people who rear pigs in parts of Kilimanjaro Region. Already pig keepers are counting huge losses as the disease spreads fast.

Moshi. For a region with a long-standing pig rearing practice, the outbreak of African Swine Fever in Moshi could mean loss of livelihoods besides posing a serious public health threat.

Kilimanjaro regional authorities have struggled in recent days to contain the disease which has killed over 500 pigs and continues to spread fast to outlying areas since its outbreak three months ago.

The outbreak has seen a dip in business among pork butcheries and eateries, including those serving tourists who have come to like the delicacy.

Dealers say a kilo of pork now sells as low as Sh1,000 instead of Sh5,000. The low price has, however, attracted a horde of people from nearby slums who under normal circumstances would not afford the normal price.

To mitigate the huge losses, some pig keepers are said to be slaughtering the animals en mass and selling meat at throw away prices as dog feed. This has pushed down prices to Sh1,000 per kilo.

Authorities in Moshi have declared a quarantine in Rombo, Moshi Urban and Rural districts in a bid to fight the spread of the disease.

A spot check by The Citizen on Saturday established some residents were dumping dead pigs into rivers Kisaringo and Msaranga whose water now emits foul smell and poses a serious health hazard to those who depend on the rivers.

It was difficult to arrest those dumping the pigs as they did so at night, according to residents. A large number of dead pigs also litter the streets.

The Moshi District agricultural and livestock development officer, Dr Estomih Masha, warned residents that they should brace for more deaths as an attack led to 100 per cent mortality.

“This disease spreads quickly and has no vaccine or cure, but the virus causes no obvious infection to humans or other species,” he asserted. Mr Eliadi Msaki, a farmer, said he had lost more than half of his stock.

A blessing for drunks

The disease has, however, proved to be a big feast to mainly illicit brew drunkards who say it was an opportunity for thgem to eat nutritious food as meat was now very cheap, showing little care to what this might cost them.

But health workers have been busy educating residents to abstain from eating pork at the moment, advising them that the carcasses should be burnt or buried in deep holes.

Most slum dwellers from Kiborloni, Majengo kwa Mtei and Msaranga have turned a deaf ear to the advice. Nearly 95 per cent of pigs in the area is reared around the poor settlements. An inquiry by this reporter established that pigs were being smuggled and sold in neighbouring Arusha despite the quarantine.

Municipal authorities say they were working with the police in efforts to stop reckless dumping of dead pigs as well as crack down on those selling pork in order to ensure that the problem is contained.