Farmers warned to guard against poisonous plant

THE Department of Veterinary Services has warned farmers to be wary of losing their livestock if they consume a poisonous plant, diachapetalum cymousm, one of the first vegetations to sprout during the spring season.

Matabeleland North provincial veterinary officer Dr Polex Moyo said farmers have perennially lost their animals, mostly cattle to the poisonous plant known as diachapetalum cymousm in Latin, which is called umkhawuzane in iSiNdebele and as such there was a need for them to take precautionary measures to avert the death of their livestock.

It is notable as a common cause of lethal cattle poisoning in Southern Africa and is considered one of the “big six” toxic plants of cattle in South Africa.

“Farmers should be wary of umkhawuzane because it is fatal to animals especially ruminants like cattle, goats and sheep and it does give a lot of headache to our animals especially those who are new in an infested area as it gets to epidemic levels and even for those that have been in the terrain for some time, they also die after consuming the plant,” said Dr Moyo.

Umkhawuzane is mostly confined to the Kalahari sands of Matabeleland North and South provinces and parts of Mwenezi District in Masvingo.

In Matabeleland it has killed a substantial number of cattle mostly in Tsholotsho, Umguza and Nkayi districts.

The plant has green leaves and it is usually the first to appear in the early spring. It is small with a very extensive root system of up to 20 metres deep.

“It is related to types of grazing areas, mostly those with sandy soils and bushy areas and it’s predominantly from August to the first rains. Umkhawuzane is mostly the first plant to get green and it attracts animals,” said Dr Moyo.

There is no treatment for animals that might have ingested the plant, except to deprive the cattle of water which activates the poison.

“Farmers can prevent deaths by ensuring that their animals don’t graze in infested areas or fencing off that area. In the event that the animals might have consumed umkhawuzane, farmers should ensure that they shouldn’t drink water for at least three days, that way one can reduce mortalities,” said Dr Moyo.

In cattle, acute death by cardiac arrest is seen following drinking water or some kind of exertion. Affected animals will show dyspnea and arrhythmias before this. There may occasionally be neurological signs such as trembling, twitching and convulsions.

Death occurs four to 24 hours after ingestion. In rare cases, an animal will survive the initial period only to drop dead months later of heart failure — so-called chronic gifblaar poisoning. On post-mortem, leaves may be found in the rumen, cyanosis may be seen, as well as signs of heart failure — congestion, haemorrhage, and myocardial necrosis (on histopathology).