Using tree leaves to treat foot and mouth disease in cattle and buffaloes in Western Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - Ky Son district is one of the localities with the largest livestock herd in Nghe An. Currently, this remote district has over 62,000 buffaloes and cows. The people here have a quite effective remedy to prevent foot and mouth disease in buffaloes and cows. What is special is that the medicine is made from leaves picked from the forest and home gardens.

Mr. Mac Van Ky picked "bo ho" leaves to treat cows with foot and mouth disease.

These days, Mr. Mac Van Ky, Hoan Son village, Ta Ca commune is very busy with the work of treating foot and mouth disease for his 7 cows. Mr. Ky said that, besides using the treatment methods as instructed by the veterinary staff, he also uses folk remedies to treat his cows.

After more than a week of treatment, his family's herd of cows has now recovered and is healthy. Mr. Ky happily said: "To treat them, I went into the forest to find sour and astringent leaves, pounded them with salt and fed them. I used that water to apply on the cows' legs and mouths. Now that the cows are cured, they can all go out and eat grass."

In fact, sour leaves are from the mulberry tree, also known in the Thai ethnic language as "bo ho". And astringent leaves are from the water fern, locally called "bo phat".

The people of Ky Son mountain area call this leaf "bo ho", it is actually the mulberry tree.

In addition to the leaves of the mulberry tree, people also use the water fern to treat foot-and-mouth disease in cattle and buffalo. The water fern is also called "bo phat" by the Thai people.

Not only Mac Van Ky's family, but also many households in Ta Ca commune also combine folk methods to treat buffalo and cows with foot-and-mouth disease.

According to many people, treating buffalo and cows with this method is simple, effective and reduces costs. Because "medicinal plants" are available around the village, they are easy to find. Thanks to this folk treatment method, the rate of buffalo and cows cured in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune is over 90%.

After being washed, the leaves of the water fern and the mulberry tree are pounded with salt and then put into the mouths of cows and buffaloes and applied to the hooves to treat diseases.

Pound the leaves with salt before treating livestock.

Affirming the superiority of folk remedies, Ms. Tran Thi Mai - Head of the Ky Son District Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station said: In addition to the recommended prevention work, families have proactively used folk remedies, combined with veterinary medicine, to treat livestock themselves, thus avoiding economic losses, preventing the disease from spreading widely, and at the same time curing the disease quickly without killing the livestock.

Put a mixture of crushed tobacco and salt into the cow's mouth to cure the disease.

Disease prevention for livestock is a regular and continuous activity of farmers. By many different measures, the purpose is to protect livestock, stabilize livestock farming, and increase income. Therefore, the treatment of foot-and-mouth disease and disease in livestock with leaves of the Ky Son people is a form of research worth paying attention to.

Lu Phu