Masaka chicken died of antibiotics overdose- gov’t

The Ministry of Agriculture has ruled out any strange disease in the death of thousands of chickens in Masaka.

There was panic among poultry farmers in Masaka after a number of birds died under unclear circumstances.

Many attributed it to a strange disease.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture has in a statement indicated that the tests carried out were negative.

“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 in a statement on Tuesday.

They said a  postmortem conducted on the dead birds that were traced to one farm had glaring evidence of the injection of oxytetracycline suspected to be in high dosage into the dead birds to treat pneumonia caused by congestion of the birds in their houses.

The ministry said the farmer attributed this 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 general public is hereby reassured that there is no strange disease affecting the poultry industry. Poultry farmers are advised to consult qualified veterinary doctors when handling their birds’ health and to take care when using antibiotics.”

“ The public is also further advised to disregard the audio message that went viral last weekend as it is not representative of the poultry industry and therefore misleading.”