A series of cattle deaths have been reported in Disah, a community in the North Gonja District, following an alleged overdose during vaccinations administered by an Ivorian hired to treat the livestock.

In an interview with Channel One News, Adam Mary, the North Gonja District Environmental Health Officer, confirmed that her office was alerted by concerned community members about the incident. A team was quickly dispatched to investigate the situation.

Ms. Mary explained that the investigation revealed a local farmer had brought an Ivorian to vaccinate his cattle. However, shortly after the immunisation, the animals began dying.

“According to the sources and investigations that were carried out, some farmers went to Côte d’Ivoire and brought somebody to come and immunise their animals. After the immunisation, the farmers realised that their animals were dying."

The vaccinations reportedly took place on Friday, with the deaths occurring over the following days.

In response to the outbreak, Ms. Mary’s office issued a public warning to prevent the infected cattle from entering the food supply. The alert was extended to nearby towns and districts, including Daboya, where there was concern that the deceased cattle might be sold to food vendors.

“Public announcement was made immediately to educate people that this is what has happened, and we believe that some of the animals will leak into Daboya and be sold to the food vendors and so we told them that the vaccine that killed the animals can equally kill a human being and so when they get such animals they should not patronize with it, they should inform us.

She also confirmed that the Tamale slaughterhouse and relevant authorities were notified to monitor and prevent the sale of contaminated meat.

Authorities continue to monitor the situation to ensure that no tainted meat reaches consumers.