FG flags off free vaccination against anthrax

<p>The Federal Government, in Collaboration with Relevant Stakeholders, has flagged off free vaccination against anthrax to ensure the safety of livestock as well as prevent the spread of the disease to unaffected animals and humans.</p>, <p>The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Afolabi Umakhihe, represented by the Deputy Director of Veterinary and Pests Control Services, Dr. Abdulkareem Durosinlorun, who was at the Emir’s palace with his team in sympathy over the unfortunate diagnosis of Anthrax disease in Niger State recently.</p>, <p>He noted that anthrax, an infectious zoonosis disease caused by bacteria, affects both domestic and wild animals and can also affect humans, especially those working closely with infected animals.</p>, <p>To mitigate the effect, therefore, Federal Government has deployed 50,000 doses of Anthrax vaccines to the State for the commencement of mass vaccination of all livestock within a 12-kilometers radius of the farm where the disease was first diagnosed.</p>, <p>Dr. Umakhihe revealed that plans were underway to carry out a free anthrax vaccination campaign in other states.</p>, <p>In his words, “We have also placed restrictions of movement on animals within the farm where the outbreak occurred for the next 20 days from the date of the onset of the outbreak”.</p>, <p>“This is to ensure that if these animals are infected, they do not infect other animals around them; the farm, its equipment, and surroundings will also be thoroughly disinfected while the Ministry will also mount surveillance in slaughter slabs, abattoirs, and livestock market around the farm and similar locations in the country to detect the disease early before it spread,” he added.</p>, <p>The Permanent Secretary, therefore, solicited the cooperation of the people of the Emirate to enable the team (one health concept) to carry out all necessary activities to put the outbreak under control, revealing that all in-contact persons have been placed on prophylactic treatm