42 buffaloes die in Medawachchiya: Bacterial infection identified as cause

Newswire reports that veterinary authorities traced the deaths of 42 buffaloes in Medawachchiya to a bacterial infection caused by a Clostridium species. The finding followed an investigation into a livestock illness that had not previously been identified in the area and laboratory testing of material collected from the affected animals.

Newswire reports that veterinary officers from Anuradhapura and Vavuniya districts examined the dead animals after death. The collected material was analysed at the Veterinary Research Institute, part of the Department of Animal Production and Health, in Gannoruwa.

Newswire reports that the Medawachchiya Veterinary Office said the illness was contained at the farm where it was first found. Veterinary authorities said animals acquire the infection by eating or drinking contaminated grass or water, rather than through direct transmission between animals. Farmers were advised not to graze livestock in places where the affected buffaloes had been kept.

Newswire reports that vaccination arrangements are under way for cattle and buffaloes in areas considered at high risk, and that a Veterinary Office spokesperson said the necessary vaccine supplies had arrived. Newswire also reports that livestock transport, paused temporarily after the outbreak, has restarted.