Infection propagates quickly among live stock. It has caused also many death of foetus in utero within the cattle with strong impact on reproduction rates.
«Doue ïda » worm, camel killer
For the breeders, the guilty ones are small black twelves centimetre long worms or caterpillars. These worms live in the acacia tree, one of the tree species which is most appreciated by the cattle in the region. They weaken the stock in winter. And in the summer the lack of water will finish the job.
End December 2014, the populations in the Agwalil region have called on the authorities to act and fight against the plague. The region is 120 km² wide in the north east of Assaba and in the south west of Tagant.
For Hamdinou Ould Tekrour, a cattle breeder in the region: «The plague is causing massive losses in our cattle stock. It kills foetuses before they are born. It dries out the trees. We beg for the government to take the right measure and put an end to the disaster these worms are causing ».
Fatim Mint Saleck: «This is a dangerous worm. It made us poorer after it destroyed our cattle. And the authorities did not move at all to stop the catastrophe».
Momma Ould H’meine to our correspondent Cheikh Ahmed: «This is the worst that could strike our cattle in the region. If we cannot find a solution, we will see no more animals from here to Azawad».
No one has precise figures as to the extent of the losses caused by the «Doue ïda » worm. «They hit really far away and isolated rural zones » according to officers at the livestock Services near the region. These civil servants warn that «any figures quoted or no more than approximation ».
President of the cattle breeder society in Assaba, Ahmed Ould Houmoud, states that «these worms directly cause the death of 700 to 1 000 heads a year and are behind the spontaneous abortion of 6 unborn animals out of 10 ».
The Regional Delegate in Assaba of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dr Dia Abderrahmane, recalled that his department «had sent in1997 samples of these worms to French laboratories to be analysed. Results had proven that these worms had venomous substances. However, nothing was done after these results were known. And this is where History stopped ». Dr Dia added that no international or any national organisation helped to fight the plague.
Very much the same happened with bush crickets, one awaits a local, national or even international reaction to fight the plague. These killer worms are the biggest challenge for Mauritanian livestock breeders. This branch of the economy offers a livelihood to a majority of the population. Should these victims wait until the plague reach the developed world before adequate means to fight the disease is at last found?
