Africa / Animal Diseases / Disease Control / East Africa / Kenya / Livestock / RVF

Why is Rift Valley fever such a menace to livestock in Eastern Africa?

Mid-2010 , the Kenya’s Ministry of livestock development placed its veterinary department on high alert over a possible outbreak of a Rift Valley fever epidemic in the North Eastern, Upper Eastern and Rift Valley provinces. Livestock Minister Mohamed Kuti, while issuing the alert, announced that a massive vaccination campaign was due to begin in the … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Diseases / Asia / Disease Control / Epidemiology / ILRI / Impact Assessment / Latin America / Value Chains

‘Bottom-up’ approaches that marry epidemiology and economics work best in assessing the impacts of animal diseases in developing countries–ILRI paper

ILRI economist Karl Rich (credit: ILRI). Former ILRI epidemiologist Brian Perry (credit ILRI/Perry). ‘A new study by researchers working with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is recommending use of “bottom-up” approaches that use the strengths offered by value chain analysis and information economics in assessing the impacts of animal diseases and their interaction with … 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

‘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 Feeding / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Disease Control / Forages / Soils

Scientists arrive in Senegal to give African hunger a black eye

A long neglected crop with the potential to halt hunger for millions in Africa, sustain the livestock revolution underway in developing countries, rejuvenate nutrient-sapped soils, and even feed astronauts on extended space missions, is attracting scientists from around the world to Senegal this week for the Fifth World Cowpea Research Conference. “It’s hard to imagine … 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

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

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Asia / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / South Asia / Sri Lanka / Zoonotic Diseases

Mobile-phone–based surveillance of infectious disease in Sri Lanka

With infectious zoonotic diseases emerging in animals in low- and middle-income countries, surveillance of animal health in these nations is becoming increasingly important for forecasting disease risks to people. A new paper describes a mobile-phone-based surveillance system for animal populations that has been developed and implemented in Sri Lanka. Using this system, field veterinarians reported … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Diseases / Capacity Strengthening / Central Africa / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Research / Uganda / Zoonotic Diseases

Makerere-North Dakota to tackle zoonoses and vector-borne diseases in Eastern and Central Africa

Under a new initiative by the United States Agency for International Development and Higher Education for Development, 11 innovative new partnerships between 22 universities in Africa and the United States have each been awarded up to US$1.1 million to address food security and other issues in Africa. These partnerships will maximize the resources of US … Continue reading

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Disease Control / Europe / Food Security / Livestock

Immense demand for disease control in developing countries

The International Federation for Animal Health–Europe annual conference, held in June 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, was devoted to the role of the animal health industry in the context of the food security challenge in the 21st century. One of the speakers—Baptiste Dungu—highlighted the need for animal disease control in developing countries. Read more … (Vetsweb) 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

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

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