Vets identify disease that killed over 1,000 cattle in West Pokot
Some of the cows grazing in Takaungu, Mombasa County, on May 7, 2014. East Coast Fever is one of the deadliest livestock diseases. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA
What you need to know:
- Dr Kahariri assured residents that the diseases can easily be contained.
- He asked the county government to renovate all cattle dips as the area is infested with ticks and tsetse flies to prevent more deaths.
A team of doctors from the Disease Control and Surveillance office have identified East Coast Fever and trypanosomiasis as the diseases that have killed over 1,000 cows in the Chepkopegh area of West Pokot County in the last four months.
Dr Samuel Kahariri, the deputy director of the Kenya Veterinary Association, led a team of officers from Nairobi and Eldoret to examine the animals to identify the cause of death.
“We immediately rushed to this area to identify the disease, as cows were bleeding from (the) mouth and nose and unable to walk,” he said.
Dr Kahariri assured residents that the diseases can easily be contained.
“Most people in this area do not take their animals to cattle dips regularly, since there is none in the area,” he said.
Dr Kahariri asked the county government to renovate all cattle dips to prevent more deaths, as the area is infested with ticks and tsetse flies.
He also asked the county government to deploy more extension officers to advice pastoralists on how to manage some of the diseases.
