Farmers decry drop in camel milk production due to Surra disease

Jecinta Nasuroi, a camel farmer from Isiolo county noticed a drop in her camel milk production due to the Trypanosomiasis disease,  locally known as Surra.

However, with nowhere to get professional help on the right treatment, she turned to traditional medicine known as ebsugu in her local language.

“When my camels were affected by the disease, milk production reduced and I was worried because I rely on milk for my family needs. I did not know where to seek treatment and we turned to traditional medicine,” she said.

Isiolo veterinary department, says the county produces the highest volume of camel milk in the country but this is being threatened by diseases.

The county has around 148,000 camels and produces over 7,000 litres of camel milk daily which is mainly sold in Nairobi.

A litre of camel milk is currently selling at Sh150 against a litre of cow milk which is selling at an average of Sh80.

Jackson Tololo, a camel keeper said they had been treating their animals with conventional drugs because of a lack of knowledge on the disease diagnosis, transmission and treatment.

“Since I walk for many kilometres in search of pasture for my camels and livestock, I used to notice they were getting thin and could not feed well. I would often give them herbal medicine but sometimes this would not work and they died,” he said.

Tololo said he used traditional methods that included burning dried dung to act as a fly repellent or positioning camel enclosures in the wind direction to blow away flies that causes Trypanosomiasis disease. 

“We tried moving animals to watering places in the middle of the day when fly activity was low and avoiding wet and muddy places where flies bred and treating wounds promptly before they became infected and attracted flies,”  he said.

Judith Chemuliti from the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization-Bio-Technology Centre said Trypanosomiasis is caused by a parasite that multiplies in the blood and body fluids of camel and is spread by the tsetse fly.

“Trypanosomiasis remains one of the biggest challenges of camel keeping and it reduces milk production. The disease has a fatality rate of nearly 100 per cent if untreated and this affects livelihoods,” she said.  

To help control and manage the disease, Chemuliti said Kalro is conducting a Sh100 million three-year intervention study in Isiolo and Marsabit.

The research has been funded by the African Union and European Union in partnership with Terra Nouva and IGAD Sheikh Technical Veterinary School in Somaliland.

She said the study was aimed at increasing productivity, incomes, food and nutrition security through enhanced control and management of the disease.

“We have been collecting data to develop a disease control strategy that will ensure the disease is effectively controlled. We collect blood samples and once we find a sick animal infected by the parasite, we treat it immediately, since transmission from one infected animal to a healthy one is detrimental,” Chemuliti said.

“We go to the bushes to see what kind of flies are affecting the camels and advise farmers on the best practices to use.”

She said the camel has been sort of a neglected species, but now that they have been able to carry out this research and give a remedy, camel keepers have seen an improvement in their camels, they are healthier and milk production has increased.

Chemuliti said they are building capacity for the veterinary staff by training them and working with the Isiolo county veterinary staff in the field during sampling on how to screen, treat the animals and the advice to give farmers.

By the end of the project, she said they are creating a training manual that will go beyond the project and anybody else coming in can carry on with the training.

Joseph Muriira, Isiolo county director of veterinary services said last year, the country reported 451 cases of Trypanosomiasis and out of this, 95 per cent were in camels from Kinna, in Garbatula ward.

He said the county has around 148,000 camels distributed across Merti, Garbatula and Isiolo central subcounties.

“Camels are resilient and are relied upon by farmers when there is drought because they give milk even when other animals cannot. Therefore, there is a need to promote camel production in the county,”  Muriira said.

Edited by Kiilu Damaris