MOA To Commence Animal Vaccination Campaign Early August

frontpageafricaonline.com - by Al-Varney Rogers - July 17, 2015

Monrovia - Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday announced the outbreak of a disease which has already killed over two thousand goats and sheep in Nimba and Lofa Counties. The Ministry says a team has been dispatched to both counties to provide clarity on the actual cause of the outbreak. “Site assessment was done in various communities where massive death of two thousand goats and sheep were reported,” Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture, Sleklau Wiles said.

Deputy Minister Wiles said the information gathered from locals indicates that the disease came from the migration of animals from neighboring Guinea to Liberia. “It was disclosed by the communities’ dwellers that illegal animal movement between the Republic of Guinea and the border town of Kinnor, Nimba County was the source of the outbreak.” Deputy Minister Wiles said. The highest mortality of 485 goats occurred in that town.” Deputy Minister Wiles averred that blood samples from the goats and sheep collected has gone laboratory diagnosis.

“The Leon Ledlum Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Fendell collected blood samples from the goats and sheep and conducted some laboratory diagnosis with the aid of rapid test kit for detection of viral diseases of animals provided by joint UNFAO/International Atomic Energy Agency,” the Deputy Minister added. The preliminary test results indicated that the disease is Peste des petit ruminants (PPR) which is viral disease of small ruminants (goats and sheep), said Wiles.

Highly contagious

The Agriculture Ministry official said the disease is highly infectious and contagious among susceptible animals saying humans are not at risk. “This disease has high economic importance to livestock farmers,” Wiles added. Wiles said, the Ministry of Agriculture has requested assistance and technical support from African Union Interafrican Bureau of Animals Resources (AU-Ibar)

Deputy Minister Wiles also said a team of veterinarians and Laboratory technologists have been dispatched to Liberia. She continued: “The team undertook epidemiological investigations and collected new samples for confirmatory test. It is confirmed that it is PPR.” The Deputy Minister disclosed that based on the results of the various test, the Ministry of Agriculture has designed a short term emergency plan to control the disease. According to Deputy Minister Wiles, refresher training on PPR disease was done for livestock officers in the fifteen counties. Community awareness and vaccination campaign are some of the measures adopted by the Ministry to tackle the outbreak.

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