Turkana Deputy Governor John Erus (c) during the launch of distribution of drugs for mass vaccination of livestock in the regionTurkana has launched a mass livestock vaccination and treatment campaign targeting about one million animals.
This follows a surge in diseases that have killed livestock over the past month.
The exercise will cover five subcounties, with priority given to areas bordering Uganda and South Sudan, where cross-border movement has heightened the risk of disease transmission.
Deputy Governor John Erus flagged off the distribution of drugs worth Sh15 million, saying the intervention was aimed at curbing diseases including Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and trypanosomiasis, which is spread by tsetse flies.
“Pastoralists raised concerns over tsetse fly infestation along the border. There are also other diseases which are spreading fast and killing many animals,” he said.
The outbreak poses a threat to pastoralist households whose livelihoods depend on livestock for income, food and wealth.
The county is banking on vaccination, treatment and restrictions on animal movement to contain the spread and prevent further losses.
Erus said the county would deploy veterinary officers to affected areas, where some livestock markets have been shut to limit movement and reduce the risk of transmission.
“In partnership with the national government, we have responded swiftly by bringing veterinary services closer to the people,” he said.
The deputy governor urged herders to take their animals for vaccination, saying the exercise would be free of charge.
Livestock development, fisheries and aquaculture chief officer Peter Ikaru said veterinary teams would be deployed across the affected wards.
He commended the Directorate of Veterinary Services and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, through VSF-Germany, for supporting the response after county surveillance teams detected rising cases.
Veterinary services county director Benson Longo’r said the recent movement of large numbers of livestock into Loima, Lokiriama, Turkana West, Turkana North and Kibish in search of pasture had increased the risk of disease transmission.
The diseases of concern include lumpy skin disease, PPR and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), which affects goats and sheep.
Longo’r said the intervention would benefit 1,900 households, with 25,000 cattle targeted for protection against lumpy skin disease and 100,000 sheep and goats against CCPP.
“This is part of the county’s plan to protect pastoral livelihoods,” he said.
The campaign follows refresher training for community disease reporters in the five subcounties ahead of the vaccination and treatment exercise.
The county now faces the task of reaching mobile herding communities across a vast and difficult terrain while ensuring that vaccination and treatment efforts keep pace with livestock movement and the spread of disease.
