Sierra Leonean authorities have banned the movement of cattle from Liberia, as well as the importation of meat from the neighboring country, due to the unexplained death of 36 cows in a border area.
In a statement release on Tuesday, July 18, the authorities said in Liberia, an investigation is underway into the causes of the death of cattle in early July in a field in the town of Kelima Bendu, Lofa County, about ten kilometers from the Sierra Leonean border and about 15 from Guinea.
Liberian authorities have not said when the results of the investigation will be known.
Sierra Leone has banned the movement of goats and sheep along the border with Liberia, the import of meat products from that country, temporarily closing livestock markets in the border area and increasing surveillance in slaughterhouses.
In May 2022, an anthrax epidemic broke out in Sierra Leone, killing more than 200 animals.
Transmitted by spores that can remain inactive for decades in the soil, this disease, called Anthrax in English, is transmissible to humans and potentially fatal in its rarest forms.
“So far, no cases of dead cattle have been found in other parts of Lofa or other counties,” Liberia’s Agriculture Ministry said on July 7.
Similarly, early this week, 36 residents of Yarwein Mehnsonnoh District, Nimba County were hospitalized at the Jackson Fiah Doe Hospital in Tappita, following the eating of a dead goat on the farm of a church pastor on Friday, July 14.
The cause of death of the goat is not yet known, as investigation is underway up to press time.
These two incidents, which happened within the span of a few weeks in the rural communities, is raising concern amongst the population about the sale and safety of meat on the local market.
