Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF), an International Non-Governmental Organization, last week started rolling out 3,400 anthrax vaccine doses for cattle and other livestock in Mayom County in Unity State, a state official said.
Johnson Bol, the director general of the ministry of animal resources and fisheries in Unity State, confirmed receipt of the vaccines and said the vaccination campaign targets over 8,450 livestock.
“We have started a plan for a livestock vaccination campaign for the next year in June 2023 to vaccinate animals against anthrax,” he said. “As you have heard, flooding affected animals in Mayom County and anthrax broke out five months ago and it was confirmed by the state ministry of health through the national laboratory. So, there is a need to vaccinate animals against anthrax.”
Meanwhile, Francis Kamau, VSF’s emergency response officer, said they plan to vaccinate cattle and other livestock including sheep and goats.
“What we have donated is anthrax vaccines and medicine for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), black quarter, and hemorrhagic septicemia,” he said. “These vaccines are for animals and small ruminants”
Kamau however advised the public not to consume meat from dead animals due to the ongoing infection.
Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. It occurs naturally in soil and commonly affects domestic and wild animals.