Lung disease kills 368 cattle in north Nigeria

ABUJA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- An outbreak of a contagious lung disease affecting animals has killed 368 cattle in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna this year, the government said on Tuesday.

Some 764 others have been affected by the lung disease known as Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia which has spread across the northern state, according to the Kaduna state government.

"The 764 affected cattle are in critical condition," Dahiru Abdullahi, a spokesperson for the state government, told reporters in the state capital of Kaduna.

The contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, sometimes called lung plague, is a very contagious bacterial disease that afflicts the lungs of cattle, buffalo, zebu, and yaks.

The disease is spread by direct contact with an infected animal, through infected droplets in the breath.

Symptoms of the disease in animals include dilation of the nostrils, frothy saliva at the mouth, labored and painful breathing, as well as grunting when exhaling or coughing. Others are nasal discharge, panting, and standing with the head and neck extended.

Abdullahi said the government has investigated the outbreak through various laboratory tests of blood samples of some affected cows.

The official said the results confirmed that it was the lung disease and, as a result, different measures have been taken to curtail the spread.

Infected herds are being treated, he said, with the government procuring drugs and vaccines, and distributing them to all the veterinary clinics in the state.