Taraba State government has rolled out two million doses of vaccines for the vaccination of livestock against anthrax, the killer disease.
The kick-off of the vaccination was conducted at Kpanti-Napo village in Yoro local government area of the state by the commissioner for agriculture, Prof Nicholas Namessan.
The commissioner said the state government resolved to be proactive in the face of the recent outbreak of the disease which was reported on July 14, 2023 in Niger State.
He said, “I want to say with pride that the Dr. Agbu Kefas led administration is the first one in the history of Taraba state to purchase over two million doses of a single type of animal vaccine for free vaccination of susceptible animal species in the state.
“I therefore call on the director of veterinary services (DVS) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and his divisional veterinary officers in the 16 local government areas of the state to ensure immediate commencement of the anthrax vaccination of susceptible animal species Immediately after this ceremony.
“I equally want to call on all livestock keepers, security agencies and other relevant stakeholders and indeed the general public to support and cooperate with the veterinary personnel who will soon be going through the nooks and crannies of the state to carry out this activity,” he said.
The commissioner called on the stakeholders to remain vigilant and report suspicious illness or death of animals to the veterinarians close to their areas.
The director of veterinary services in the Ministry of Agriculture Taraba State, Mallam Shehu Abdullahi, told LEADERSHIP that the state government had procured 10,000 bottles of the anthrax vaccines for the free vaccination.
He said a bottle of the vaccines cost N5,000 which can vaccinate 40 animals.