The Mt Kenya Times 
Kisii county governor Simba Arati Officiating the launch of the Annual County Livestock Vaccination Programme photo/Elizabeth Angira
By Elizabeth Angira
Worth Noting:
- “The key objective is to increase productivity in the livestock sector through prevention of disease occurrence since healthy animals result in increased and sustained production,” said the Governor.
- The vaccination is also an effort towards the prevention of Zoonotic diseases such as anthrax and rabies, in an exercise which targets over 146,998 heads of cattle and 53,121 heads of sheep in the seven Sub-Counties. Over 15, 000 Dogs are also targeted for vaccination.
- “To ward off economic losses, due to diseases and impact on general public health, domestic animals are being vaccinated against various diseases. I urge residents of the county to cooperate with the Veterinary officers who will be traversing the villages and have all their animals vaccinated,” he said.
The Kisii County Government is prioritizing livestock production as a means to food security and wealth creation.
Focus is on facilitating the farmers to have healthy stock for the sake of improved production.
In this regard, Governor Simba Arati officiated the official launch of the Annual County Livestock Vaccination programme at Bobaracho market centre in Kitutu Chache North Constituency.
The vaccination against Anthrax, Rabies, Lumpy skin disease, Foot and Mouth disease, Rift Valley fever, rabies among others will be rolled out in all the constituencies and wards in the county, with the exception of Bobasi and Bonchari where already, vaccination has been done, due to a recent outbreak.
“The key objective is to increase productivity in the livestock sector through prevention of disease occurrence since healthy animals result in increased and sustained production,” said the Governor.
The vaccination is also an effort towards the prevention of Zoonotic diseases such as anthrax and rabies, in an exercise which targets over 146,998 heads of cattle and 53,121 heads of sheep in the seven Sub-Counties. Over 15, 000 Dogs are also targeted for vaccination.
“To ward off economic losses, due to diseases and impact on general public health, domestic animals are being vaccinated against various diseases. I urge residents of the county to cooperate with the Veterinary officers who will be traversing the villages and have all their animals vaccinated,” he said.
The governor indicated that the annual vaccination is done to protect the public from Zoonotic diseases which can cross over from animals to humans and Vice-Versa, such as anthrax and rabies.
“Dog mediated Rabies is the commonest reported due to dog bites from rabid or infected dogs. Vaccinating the entire dog population is an efficient way of stopping the transmission cycle of the deadly rabies,” said Simba.
The County Executive Committee (CEC) member in charge of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Cooperatives and Irrigation Dr. Margret Obaga regretted that rabies is a viral disease that targets the nervous system causing paralysis and death.
“It has a 100 percent mortality rate and it is transmitted through contact with saliva of infected animals especially through dog bites from infected dogs,” said Dr. Obaga.
Chief Officer in charge of Livestock and veterinary services Agnes Choti announced that rabies in cattle is becoming common in the county and asked members of the public to be vigilant for cattle that change behaviour, cannot feed and later get paralyzed.
“Cattle, sheep and goats that die suddenly should be reported to the nearest veterinary offices. Sudden death with or without blood oozing from body openings should be suspected of having died from anthrax until proven otherwise by a Veterinary officer,” observed the Chief Officer.
Choti urged members of the public to avoid coming into contact with or feeding on such carcasses as anthrax affects both humans and animals and can be fatal.
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