FMD vaccinations near Mukwe

THE first round of vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Kavango Region’s Ndiyona and Mukwe constituencies will kick off next month.

The vaccination campaign starting on March 1 is the first for this year, and will use the trivalent vaccine acquired from the Botswana Vaccine Institute.
Rundu State Veterinarian Dr Thompson Shuro told Nampa that the vaccination is being repeated in the two constituencies because of the threat posed by buffaloes that are carriers of FMD. Shuro urged farmers in the area to bring their cattle for vaccination to ensure FMD is completely eradicated.
Vaccinations are expected to last for about a month. Last year’s second round of FMD vaccination failed, as less than 50 per cent of the targeted cattle were vaccinated in those two constituencies. During last year’s campaign over 30 000 cattle from 112 infected villages of the Ndiyona and Mukwe constituencies were targeted for re-vaccination, but the response was poor and only a total of 9 046 cattle were re-vaccinated.
Last year 50 000 doses of trivalent vaccine were received from the Botswana institute, the only one in southern Africa producing this vaccine.
An FMD outbreak occurred in July 2009 in eastern Kavango in the Mukwe Constituency. The previous one occurred in 1992.