A toast to the world without cattle plague

 

As the world next Monday celebrates 10 years of animals living free without the deadly rinderpest disease, it is grappling with another pandemic that seems much harder to eradicate.

The Covid-19 pandemic is ravaging various countries across the world as scientists and governments work harder to come up with vaccines and administer them. 

Rinderpest, a devastating livestock and wild animal disease was declared exterminated in 2011 and Kenya played a bigger role in coming up with the vaccine.

Seeds of Gold visited the laboratory in which the vaccine was developed at the Directorate of Veterinary Services in Kabete, Nairobi. Dressed in blue laboratory clothing, head covering and face masks, the scientists at the lab were busy, some behind a computer and others testing various samples and mixing chemicals.

Dr Walter Masiga, one of the experts who worked with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU IBAR), which was part of the organisations in the rinderpest vaccine programme, says the disease was an ancient plague of cattle, large ruminants and wild animals.

Rinderpest was known for its ravaging effects that swept through centuries, until it was finally eliminated through vaccination.

Vaccination of cattle

Main clinical signs for the disease were fever, lack of appetite, constipation, diarrhoea, reduced milk production and wounds in the mouth. Others were depression, abdominal pain, lack of muscle strength and death would occur after six to 12 days. 

“We managed to come up with vaccine and, thereafter, there was massive vaccination of cattle across Africa and the entire world,” says Dr Masiga.

Through the Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC) coordinated by AU IBAR, Kenya was among the 34 countries that participated in the research and vaccinations. 

“Key to success was political support within the continent. We were using the national staff to do the vaccinations and this was only possible through political goodwill,” Dr Masiga explains.

Dr Dickens Chibeu, who headed the epidemiological surveillance section at the Directorate of Veterinary Services, says Kenyan scientists diligently worked to convince vets to focus on supervision at a time when administering vaccines was seen as the only way to battle the disease.

“We managed to set up the first epidemiological unit and integrated it as a new tool to help control the situation,” says Dr Chibeu.

The expert adds he later worked with the Somali Ecosystem Rinderpest Eradication Coordination Unit (SERECU) as an AU IBAR coordinator.

Fighting the virus

He applauds the project in helping to eradicate the disease.

“Insecurity was one of the major challenges we faced. Our focus, however, was fighting the virus that had threatened to eliminate livestock. With good political support, we managed,” he says.

The scientists note that support from international institutions like Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) also boosted the work.

The last case of rinderpest was confirmed in Kenya in 2001. Between 2002 and 2011, no case was identified.

“The climax of the whole process was in 2011 when OIE announced that rinderpest had been eradicated across the world,” states Dr Masiga.

The scientists, however, warn that there is risk of the disease re-emerging as some countries are still storing materials associated with it in their laboratories.     BY DAILY NATION