ANTHRAX – KENYA (10): (NAROK) LIVESTOCK VACCINATION
A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023
Source: Kenya News Agency (KNA) [edited]
https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/ilmotiok-residents-benefit-from-subsidized-anthrax-vaccine/
Residents of Ilmotiok ward in Narok West Sub County have a reason to
smile after the county government, in collaboration with the Kenya Red
Cross Society (KRCS), vaccinated hundreds of livestock against anthrax
disease at a subsidized price. Unlike in the past, when farmers paid
Sh100 [about USD 0.71] for the vaccine, now it has been subsidized to
Sh40 [about USD 0.29] so that more farmers can afford it.
The exercise that kicked off at the beginning of this month is
expected to run for 4 weeks and target over 1000 cows in the ward.
Ilmotiok Ward Health Officer Haron Kandie said the vaccination
exercise follows increased cases of anthrax in the ward, thus
compromising livestock production in the area.
Following the disease outbreak, he said, the county government
collaborated with KRCS, which triggered a faster response to curb the
disease, which is deadly to both human beings and animals. “This
anthrax vaccination is very important because it prevents the spread
of the disease that is deadly to both animals and people,” said
Kandie.
continuous exercise, many farmers could not afford to pay Sh100 per
livestock head, saying the current initiative has seen many farmers
benefit from the subsidy. [JT], a community health volunteer working at KRCS, added that they
have been conducting public awareness campaigns on livestock diseases
in the area. “We have been conducting public awareness through village
elders, in schools, churches, and chief’s barazas [public gatherings].
We are happy that the turnout is high,” she said.
Celestine Ogutu, a Community Pandemic Preparedness Program (CP3)
officer, said the organization had conducted training for community
health volunteers on priority diseases like anthrax. “Our role as KRSC
is to cascade information from our experts to the community health
volunteers, who further disseminate it to the community,” said Ogutu.
government and KRCS for the effort they have put in place to help them
deal with the disease. [Byline: Ann Salaton, Amos Maine]
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