Brucellosis Is Reigning in Lagodekhi District

 “If the Veterinarian Service Department had taken timely prevention measures, the disease would not have transferred people”

Brucellosis is reigning in nearly ten villages in Lagodekhi District. 26 people are ill with serious infections. However, specialists claim that there is no reason for panic and they exclude the possibility of epidemics. The population urges for help.

Most occurrences of brucellosis were observed in the village of Rachisubani where local residents killed their cattle or sold them; several cows died because of an infection. According to villagers, they learned about the disease later and consequently people also got infected having eaten cheese and having drunk milk.

“I had arthritis for several days and felt very weak. In May, when representatives of the Veterinarian Service Department arrived in the village to examine our cattle, they concluded that one of our cows had brucellosis. Afterwards, I got suspicious about my health, because I was milking the cow everyday. I visited the doctor and after examination it turned out that I had four areas effected by brucellosis; it means that it is impossible to cure me and I will have to spend the rest of my life with that infection,” said Tina Lobzhanidze.

According to official data, five villagers are receiving medical treatment for brucellosis. Local people do not exclude the possibility that the number of infected people may be much higher.

“Five people are receiving treatment at various hospitals for the acute form of brucellosis. However, we have not tested the blood of all inhabitants. No specialist arrived to examine us. Many more people might be infected with the disease,” claimed residents of the village of Rachisubani.

Nearly 70 families were resettled from the Oni District in the village of Rachisubani early in the last century. Only forty families live there now. The only source of income for local people is cattle breeding however, because of the current situation the villagers only have a few cows left out of one hundred.

“We earned our living by breeding cattle. We sold milk, cheese, matsoni. What shall we do now? I do not know. We might die of starvation,” said Misha Kapanadze, a resident of the village.

The population blames the local veterinarian service department for the problem. “The brucellosis periodically breaks out in the district. But during recent years the experts removed the diseased cows from the village immediately; they carried out all other necessary precautions as well. “The problem has been controlling the village for a year already. However, nobody paid attention to us until our cattle died. We have requested help from the representatives of the veterinarian service department, but they replied that there was no vaccine against brucellosis and they could not help us. Consequently, the population got infected by the brucellosis,” said Mariam Kiknadze. She also pointed out that villagers sold infected meat. “Butchers from Lagodekhi and Gurjaani arrived in the village and bought beef at half price. Then they sold it in Lagodekhi, Gurjaani and Tbilisi markets at higher prices,” local residents stated.

According to the veterinarian of the Gurjaani Agricultural market, their laboratory cannot examine the beef for brucellosis. “We cannot assert that infected meat was sold at the market,” said the specialist.

Nunu Nozadze, the head of the Public Health Office in Lagodekhi District, stated that 21 cases of brucellosis were observed in the district so far. However, the number is not final and it might increase based on the information received from Tbilisi hospitals and other districts. Nozadze added that if urgent prevention measures had been taken on time, the disease would not have spread to people.

Levan Gelashvili, the head of the Veterinary Department, stated that his office is incapable of fighting the disease because they do not have a vaccine to avoid the infection. He can only give useful advice to the population. “People have no reason for panic. They do not have to worry if they have bought infected beef at the market. When meat gets cold, the brucellosis infection dies as well. As for cheese, if it is kept in salted water for forty days, it does not pose any threat to the health of people,” said Gelashvili.

It is worth mentioning that the diagnostic examination on brucellosis is a part of a state program which is implemented in various regions of Georgia.

Veterinarians call upon people to kill their cows according to veterinary and sanitary standards as soon as they observe brucellosis symptoms.

The meat of infected cows can be eaten after it has been boiled. Non-pasteurized milk and products made thereof are dangerous for people.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti