THOUSANDS of Tanzanian families could be saved from destitution thanks to a much-needed vaccine being mass-produced in a bid to protect cattle from the deadly East Coast fever.

This is a tick-transmitted disease that kills one cow every 30 seconds with one million a year dying of the disease in Africa.

Calves are particularly susceptible to the disease. In herds kept by the pastoral Maasai people, for example, the disease kills from 20 to over 50 per cent of all unvaccinated calves. This makes it difficult and often impossible for herders to plan for the future, improve their livestock enterprises and thus raise their standard of living.

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