Over 100 cows have lost their eye sight in Kakamba sub county in Isingiro district, cattle keepers have confirmed.
Benon Mutakirwa Rugaju, the chairperson Kakamba Dairy Cooperative Society which brings together 150 dairy farmers in Kakamba sub county confirmed to this website that their cows are going blind and they suspect fake drugs is the root cause.
He added they use fumigants like Lava, 2 in 1 Ocelamectin and others which they suspect to have affected the eye sight of their cattle.
According to Mutakirwa, the affected cows also present with a skin rash, bleeding and itching. He says because of tick resistance in the area, farmers resorted to mixing different forms of drugs and fumigants to kill ticks.
Dr. Burhan Kasozi, the Isingiro District Veterinary Officer confirmed registering cases of blindness in several animals caused by unauthorized acaricides.
Dr. Kasozi said they have submitted a report to the National Drug Authority, which has started investigations to find out whether the blindness in the cows is caused by the said acaricides.
Jeremiah Kamurari, the Isingiro district LC V chairperson says they have received 300 cases of blindness in cows and 14 deaths which he blames on fake drugs.
He said the fake drugs are used to spray cows against ticks but they are affecting the eye sight of cows.
Dr. Jeanne Muhindo, the Head of the Veterinary Department at National Drug Authority says their team inspected several farms and discovered that several animals are losing eye sight because of the use of fake agrichemicals and fumigants.
Recently, National Drug Authority-NDA and Uganda Police Force carried out an operation against counterfeit veterinary drug dealers which saw the arrest of seven suspects.
They were found in possession of 1000 liters of counterfeit tick burn, 1600 Tick Burn stickers, DD Force, empty boxes of Boom Super 1000 EC Fumigant and measuring caps from DD force.
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