Govt says antibiotics overdose killed Masaka chicken
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry (MAAIF) and Fisheries has dismissed claims of a strange disease affecting poultry birds in Masaka.
This follows an audio clip that went went viral on social media concerning a "discovered dump" of carcasses of dead birds in Masaka.
In the audio clip, one was heard claiming that the birds had died of a strange disease and went on warn the public against consuming chicken.
However, in a statement, MAAIF said that its Animal Health department and College of Veterinary Medicine had been dispatched to Masaka, and upon taking samples, they discovered the birds had likely succumbed to antibiotics overdose, contrary to social media claims.
"Preliminary tests from samples picked from Masaka that had earlier been sent through the hub system have turned negative for New Castle Disease, Avian Influenza and Infectious Bursal Disease," the ministry said.
The Ministry added: "A postmortem conducted on the dead birds that were traced to one farm had glaring evidence of the injection of oxytetracycline(suspected high dosage) into the dead birds to treat pneumonia caused by congestion of the birds in their houses."
The MAAIF adds that the poultry farmer had attributed the unfortunate incident to a “veterinary” doctor and later admitted that when the birds died, they proceeded to dispose of the birds in the field in which members of the public later found them.
The ministry further reassured the public that there is no strange disease affecting the poultry industry, and advised poultry farmers to always deal with only qualified veterinary doctors.
"Poultry farmers are advised to consult qualified veterinary doctors when handling their birds’ health and to take care when using antibiotics."
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics 2024 report, chickens are estimated to be about 57.8 million and of these, 17.4 million are exotic breeds.
Buganda North and Buganda South had the highest number of hens laying estimated to be 2.04 million (31.8 percent).
