Chijioke Iremeka
The Federal Government, Food and Agricultural Organisation and other critical stakeholders in the country’s animal husbandry, have united to chart a common front in combating the spread of anthrax diseases in Nigeria since its outbreak.
Other critical stakeholders united in this action against the spread of the disease include the directors of veterinary services in some states; the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant private sector participants.
According to the World Health Organisation, anthrax is an infection caused by the spore-forming bacteria, Bacillus anthracis.
It is a zoonosis that affects ruminants and produces potent toxins in them that are responsible for causing high lethality rates.
However, while the first case of anthrax was detected on a farm in Sabo Wuse in Niger State, which is located on the outskirts of the FCT, a few other cases were later confirmed in a livestock market in Lagos.
Sequel to this, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development revealed that there are approximately 9.2 million pigs; 53 million sheep; 99.8 million goats and 22.3 million cattle across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria that are susceptible to anthrax.
For the Permanent Secretary, FMARD, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, the joint action against the spread of anthrax disease was to chart a front to understand the disease and its impact on livestock as well as humans in order to maintain effective surveillance systems for its early detection, reporting and prevention.
An Epidemiologist and the Country Team Leader, FAO-Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases, Dr. Otto Muhinda, said FAO would work with FMARD and states in Nigeria to strengthen in-country capacity to tackle zoonotic animal diseases.
The Directors of Veterinary Services in Niger, Lagos, Gombe, Yobe, Oyo, Plateau, and Kebbi states said they have commenced vaccination of animals in their respective domains, while FCT said it procured a total of 800,000 jabs and has started the vaccination of animals.
The Director and Chief Veterinary Officer, Epidemiology Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, FMARD, Dr. Chinyere Ikechukwu-Eneh, said so far, there are four confirmed cases and 44 suspected cases, and that while the results of some of the samples from some states came out negative, others are still being awaited.
Ikechukwu-Eneh, who is also the Chairman, National Anthrax Technical Working Group and Incident Manager for the Control of Anthrax, said the disease has killed 35 animals and that the Federal Government, in collaboration with partners, has dispatched a total of 100,000 vaccine jabs to Lagos and Niger for emergency vaccination.
The Director, Diagnostics and Extension Services of the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Plateau State, Dr. Sati Ngulukun called for urgent training of veterinary officers for proper sample collections and transportation.
He noted that if samples are not properly collected, it would affect the results of the analysis, adding that not everybody can collect samples.
Dr. Ngulukun also cautioned against the transportation of samples collected from suspected animals via the public transport system, adding that it is unethical and could cause serious public issues if anything goes wrong with the process.
However, the National President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Baba Ngelzarma, said education and sensitisation of its members to accept vaccination would go a long way.
He noted that the entire value chain of the livestock, from the farmers to transporters, marketers and butchers, do not have the necessary education on some of the zoonotic diseases, hence, there is an urgent need for training to ensure that nothing happens along the way.
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