Published Date: 1999-08-09 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH> Foot & mouth disease, bovine - Kenya (Rift Valley)
Archive Number: 19990809.1376

FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE, BOVINE - KENYA (RIFT VALLEY)
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Disease report, human & animal - East Africa 980207111506
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 12:22:44 -0400
From: Marjorie P. Pollack <pollackmp@mindspring.com>
Source: Africa News Service 6 Aug 1999 [edited

Dairy farmers in the Rift Valley Province want the government to ban the
importation of powdered milk and the entry of livestock in the country from
neighboring countries.
The farmers, who spoke to [reporters in Nakuru yesterday, claimed that the
entry of livestock into the country from some neighboring countries was the
cause of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in 7 Rift Valley
districts. Mr. John Arap Mibei, Mr. Tirus Koech and Mr. Joseph Bundotich,
who spoke on behalf of other farmers, complained this FMD strain had not
been reported in the country during the last 12 years. "This strain of Foot
and Mouth Disease has been introduced in Kenya by cattle from neighboring
countries due to laxity among the government agencies which are entrusted
with the responsibility of enforcing the livestock movement regulations."
Mr. Mibei said.
The farmers said that milk production was likely to go down drastically
among the herds which have been hit by FMD. The disease causes severe
mastitis [infection of the mammary organs of cattle. They said the adverse
effects of the recent drought, the outbreak of FMD and the current shortage
of maize will soon result in low milk yields. "We fear owners of private
milk processing firms will import powdered milk due to the impending
shortage of raw milk," Mr. Mibei said.
The farmers said unless the producer prices of milk were increased during
the next few weeks, most farmers will not be able to maintain their dairy
herds. "Some of the farmers in the areas hit by FMD are already spending
much money on antibiotics for their animals in order to stop secondary
infections. We fear grain millers will also increase the price of animal
feeds due to the maize shortage," Mr. Bundotich said.
The farmers claimed that the vector, Cypress Aphid, spread to Kenya from a
neighboring country due to the failure of the government to stop the
importation of timber products. They said economic liberalization policies
should not be embraced where the local farmer stood to lose." We need to
shut out the importation of dairy and beef products completely because we
have the capacity to export those products." Mr. Bundotich said.
The farmers appealed to the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute
to stock enough vaccines against all the 7 strains of FMD and other cattle
diseases such as rinderpest. Cooper Kenya Limited recently imported
anti-FMD vaccines from South Africa after an outcry by farmers in the
districts where the disease had broken out. They suggested that registered
pharmaceutical firms be cleared to import veterinary vaccines without
having to go through the Director of Veterinary Services.
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[It is unlikely that the Cypress Aphid transmitted the FMD. Transmission of
FMD is generally by contact between susceptible and infected animals.
Infected animals have a large amount of aerosol virus in their exhaled air,
which can infect other animals via the respiratory or oral routs. All
secretions and excretions from the infection animal contain virus, and
virus may be present in milk and semen for up to 4 days before clinical
signs appear.
FMD has been transmitted to calves via infected milk, and milk tankers
carrying infected milk have been implicated in the spread of disease
between farms. Fodder can become contaminated after contact with infected
animals and iatrogenic spread of FMD has been reported, but mechanical
spread by nonsusceptible species of wildlife such as birds and dogs is
unlikely.
Aerosol FMD virus can spread a considerable distance as a plume, depending
on weather conditions, particularly when the relative humidity is greater
than 60 percent and when turbulence is not encountered by topography factors.
A typical scenario for the introduction of FMD into a previously clear area
is for pigs to be fed imported food derived from an infected animal ( such
as meat, offal, or milk) and then virus spreads by aerosol form the
infected pigs to cattle, which are the species most likely to be infected
by the respiratory route because of their large respiratory volume.
FMD virus can survive in dry fecal material for 14 days in summer, in
slurry up to 6 months in winter, in urine for 39 days and in soil between 3
(summer) and 28 days (winter). - Mod.TG
............................tg/es
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