500,000 cattle vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease

Some 500,000 cattle have been vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease since the start of the nationwide campaign on January 30.

Government records show Uasin Gishu County leads as 69,360 cattle have been vaccinated.

Nakuru follows it at 52,320, Trans Nzoia (46,240) and Turkana (42,000).

The campaign targets 22 million cattle and 50 million goats over two years.

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe launched the exercise in Kisargei, Segera ward, Laikipia North sub-county.

Director of Veterinary Services Allan Azegele said the campaign was urgent in West Pokot, Nandi, Trans Nzoia and Kakamega following outbreaks in these areas.

“FMD has caused significant loss in production and productivity of our livestock,” he said.

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) both pose serious threats to animal health, productivity, and trade.

By significantly increasing vaccination coverage from the current 10 per cent to an ambitious 85 per cent, the government hopes to strengthen disease control efforts, improve livestock productivity, and enhance Kenya’s competitiveness in global trade.

Despite the potential benefits, the initiative faces significant opposition, driven by misinformation and scepticism.

The government has emphasised that exercise is entirely voluntary and will be carried out over the next three years.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) classifies Peste des Petits Ruminants and foot-and-mouth disease as “trade-sensitive” transboundary animal diseases, and the government therefore is targeting to get Kenya certified as disease-free.

The government insists vaccination will not only increase the health of the animals, production, quality, and population, thereby reversing the current annual economic losses of up to Sh62 billion due to the closure of markets, locally and internationally, treatment costs, and the 70 per cent losses through high mortality.

Last year, more than three million sheep and goats and over 570,000 cattle were vaccinated against PPR and FMD, respectively, in Kitui, Embu, Tharaka Nithi, and Wajir counties.

In reassuring on the efficacy of the vaccines, Kagwe reiterated that the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (KEVEVAPI), a parastatal established in 1990, wholly produces the drugs locally.