Over 300,000 livestock will be vaccinated in Isiolo County against Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia (CBPP) and the foot and mouth diseases
The vaccination campaign which is set to begin in two weeks is sponsored by Isiolo County Government and the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).
According to the County Director of Veterinary services Dr. Joseph Githinji the diseases are common during drought because the animals are weak while other ailments are transmitted by livestock from other regions including Garissa, Moyale, Wajir and Marsabit that converge at places where water and pastures are found.
Dr. Githinji said some officers have been dispatched to divisions in Oldonyiro, Garbatulla, Isiolo and Merti to collect blood samples of the suspected animals for examination.
Pastoralists whose animals are sick said that their stocks had developed blisters, lameness and dramatic loss of weight with low milk yields and affected calves and young stocks more.
Isiolo County Chief Officer for Livestock and Fisheries Mr. Yusuf Mohammed said that drought was responsible for the problem since concentration of livestock in the grazing areas put the animals at the risk of spreading of diseases.
Mohamed said that 50 per cent of the livestock in the County had been vaccinated against three major diseases including Foot and Mouth, Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia (CBPP) and Pestedes Petits Ruminants (PPR) - a viral disease primarily affecting sheep and goats.
He said the County has set aside Sh8 million for vaccination that will cover 80 percent of the stocks in the region adding that the remaining 20 percent will be covered by the National Drought Management Authority.
Mohamed added that the funds were aimed at enhancing livestock disease surveillance in hotspots such as migration corridors, dry season grazing areas and water points.
Specific activities include livestock ring vaccination in areas of convergence to avoid spread of contagious diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease, CBPP and PPR.
He appealed to the pastoralists to ensure their animals were vaccinated alleging that most of them refuse to comply with the notice but they later witness the disease sweeping thousands of stocks.