| |
ANIMAL AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS
What is Animal African Trypanosomiasis?
African Animal Trypanasomiasis also known as Nagana is a disease of livestock and game animals (cows, pig, goats, sheep, donkeys’ horses, dogs and rabbit). It is caused by trypanosomes which circulate in the blood stream of infected animals.
It is transmitted from one animal to another through the bite of an infected tsetse fly after biting either an infected human or animal.
What are the signs?
- Animal weakness, Intermittent fever, Loss of appetite,Anaemia,Low milk/meat production, suffers from abortion, Poor calving rates, Some blindness and death
Animals at risk
About 20 million animals are at risk in the country. It affects both domestic and game type. It is commonest where the HAT exists in both epidemic and evidence forms. It is a progressively wasting disease and contributes to economic losses.
Risk factors,
- Presence of uncleared bush, presence of people and animals at water sources such as springs give good opportunity for disease transmission to occur at shared swamps.
- Non tick control
- Presence of tsetse infected areas.
Impact
- Low productivity (milk, meat and other dairy).Poor calving rates in cattle products including in sheep and goats, abortions in expectant animals, reduced herd size, poor resistance to draught season and failure to plough, high treatment costs, reduced household incomes and food insecurity as a result of the above and death of live stock,
Preventive measures
- Proper diagnosis and treatment of the affected animals and those at risk for specific mass treatment
- Tsetse (vector control) use treated traps.
- Protecting livestock against disease in high risk areas using protective drugs live baits
- Public mobilization and public education.
|
|
