Indigestible Plastic Bags are Hindering Profitability of Dairy Production in Peri-Urban Kampala
Dickson Stuart Tayebwa *
Central Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda. and Research Center for Tropical Diseases and Vector Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Rodney Okwasiimire
Central Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Christine Kesiime
Central Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Esther Nansubuga
Central Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Steven Kakooza
Central Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda. and Novel Minds Science Plexus, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
Mariam Komugisha
Department of Animal Health, Zonal Veterinary Inspector for Central Region, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, P.O.Box 513, Entebbe, Uganda.
Ismail Asiimwe
Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P.O.Box 22418, Kampala, Uganda.
Paul Ssuna
Central Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Many Ugandans living in the urban and peri-urban areas have started dairy farming to tap into the demand for milk and its products, driven by the population growth. Unfortunately, they operate on a small scale because land and cattle feeds in the urban and peri-urban areas are limited. In addition, the peri-urban areas are contaminated with indigestible materials such as plastic bags which once consumed by the cattle impair health, cause loss of milk productivity and death. This report documents the findings from three cases referred to the ambulatory clinic at the Central Diagnostic Laboratory (CDL) in 2018. The cases were diagnosed as hardware disease and surgically treated by rumenotomy. In addition, a review of the patients’ data sheets in CDL was performed to identify other cases of hardware disease documented in 2018. Both metallic and non-metallic indigestible materials were recovered from the rumen and reticulum of the three animals operated. The indigestible foreign materials included nails, wire, plastic bags and a sisal rope. The common clinical signs coherent with the presence of indigestible materials were chronic emaciation and loss of appetite. The review of the patients’ data sheets showed that blood samples of 23 cases of suspected hardware disease were submitted to CDL in 2018 for diagnosis. It is paramount that farmers are sensitized about the effects of indigestible materials on the production of dairy animals. For, such an intervention would liberate the peri-urban dairy farmers from losses attributed to hardware disease.
Keywords: Hardware disease, Ingested plastic bags, Peri-urban dairy farming, Uganda.