Deadly goat plague meets match in mobile phones, disease monitors
A veterinary officer vaccinates livestock in Laisamis. Goat plague affected livestock in Turkana and Marsabit regions late last year and beginning of this year and researchers are using mobile phones to fight the disease. PHOTO | ISAIAH ESIPISU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Goat plague is a disease characterised by sudden onset of depression, anorexia, fever, purulent discharges from the eyes and nose, disturbed breathing and coughing and foul-smelling diarrhoea that leads to death.
The researchers from Veterinary San Frontiers (VSF) Germany, working with livestock officers from Turkana and Marsabit counties, have enlisted selected farmers to become Community Disease Reporters (CDR) to enhance outbreak detection.
Due to the close monitoring and early warning using mobile phones, only 6,000 sheep and goats have succumbed to goat plague in the last three months in Laisamis.
The disease reporters are key in the success of the fight against the disease given the limited number of veterinary technical staff, and the vastness of the county
On January 1, Leteriyon Ejeret, a resident of Turkana woke up to a devastating tragedy.
As people celebrated the New Year, 15 of his goats had succumbed to a “strange” disease that was later identified as goat plague, also known as Ovine rinderpest or peste des petits ruminants (PPR).
