Traditional knowledge key to managing Rift Valley fever

Posted on 16 Dec 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

By assessing key risk factors and symptoms, such as an increase in rainfall and high abortion rates, Somali and Maasai herders accurately predicted the outbreak of Rift Valley fever in 2006/07 long before veterinary and public health interventions began, researchers have discovered. “Timely outbreak response requires effective early warning and surveillance systems,” say authors of … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Books and chapters / East Africa / Kenya / Research / Tanzania / Uganda

‘New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa’ launched by five East African heads of state

Posted on 3 Dec 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

The 12th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State of the East African Community is taking place today, 3 December 2010, at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and current chairman of the summit, as well as presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, … Continue reading →

Africa / Biodiversity / East Africa / Environment / NRM / Tanzania / Wildlife / WLE

‘Great Migration’ or ‘Great Poverty’: Can wildlife and humans both thrive in the Greater Serengeti ecosystem?

Posted on 1 Nov 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Savanna grasslands of East Africa (photo credit: ILRI/Elsworth). The New York Times reports on the new road the Tanzanian government is planning on building through the northern Serengeti. Is this road, which could disrupt one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth, an economic imperative and an ecological disaster? An environmental imperative and an economic … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Kenya / Middle East / North Africa / RVF / Somalia / Tanzania / Trade / Value Chains

Economic losses from Rift Valley fever greater than previous documented

Posted on 10 Oct 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

‘Kenya’s livestock farmers were hardest hit as a result of the death of their animals from the Rift Valley fever disease outbreak in 2006/2007, with total economic losses from livestock deaths valued at over 7.6 million US dollars, researchers revealed. ‘According to the researchers at the Market Opportunities Theme of the International Livestock Research Institute … Continue reading →

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Kenya / Sudan / Tanzania

Veterinary officers meet to strengthen animal disease control in eastern Africa

Posted on 25 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Chief veterinary officers and heads of central veterinary laboratories from 10 countries met in Zanzibar from 24 to 26 Aug 2010 to plan how to enhance the preparedness, prevention and management of animal diseases. Participants recommended strengthening regional cooperation and collaboration, particularly with key partners such as the Africa Union/Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, the World … Continue reading →

Biodiversity / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Epidemiology / Kenya / Mozambique / Southern Africa / Tanzania / Wildlife

Veterinarian Steve Osofsky on smart ways of tackling wildlife, livestock and human health in tandem

Posted on 8 Sep 2010 by Susan MacMillan • 1 Comment

Photo credit: ILRI / Mann Steve Osofsky, wildlife veterinarian and Director of Wildlife Health Policy at the international Wildlife Conservation Society, spoke with Laurel Neme on her ‘The WildLife’ radio show and podcast about the intersection between wildlife, livestock and human health, and how paying attention to all three in tandem leads to better outcomes … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Disease Control / East Africa / ECF / Livestock / Tanzania / Vaccines

Official approval for East Coast fever vaccine

Posted on 6 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

A vaccine against East Coast fever – a disease which kills over 1 million cattle every year – has recently been officially registered in Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi, with Uganda also close to completing registration. This opens the way for private sector companies to take on vaccination delivery as a profit-making business. But how much … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Environment / Food Security / Forages / Kenya / Tanzania

The ‘Magic’ that will reduce fertilizer reliance

Posted on 30 Jul 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

The performance of the agriculture sector, which experienced a growth of 4 per cent in the last few years, should cause a shudder to stakeholders at a time when the country is all songs for the green revolution. Any measure directed towards revamping agriculture must take cognizance of the underlying causes. The small agricultural growth … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Disease Control / East Africa / ECF / Tanzania / Vaccines

East Coast fever vaccine registered in Tanzania

Posted on 16 Jun 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

In May, an East Coast fever (ECF) vaccine was registered by GALVmed in Tanzania. ECF is a tick transmitted disease which kills a million cattle every year and devastates the livelihood of those who depend on livestock for survival. Registration of the ECF vaccine is central to safety and efficacy and to securing the sustainability … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / East Africa / ECF / Livestock / Tanzania / Vaccines

Keeping the Maasai farmers alive when the pop stars have all gone

Posted on 28 May 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

The Edinburgh-based charity GALVmed has brought hope to Maasai communities in Tanzania hit by East Coast fever, a livestock disease that kills 19 out of 20 calves It is a little after dawn in the Masai district of Engarenaibor in northwestern Tanzania. Amid a pre-historic landscape of rolling grassland and acacia trees, Paolo Lemorongo, a … Continue reading →