January 26, 2017 

Kenya boosts livestock immunity with oil-based vaccine

Kenya has boosted its livestock's immunity for a longer period with the launching on Wednesday (Jan. 25) of a purified oil-based vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease.

Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (Kevevapi) Acting CEO Jane Wachira told a media briefing in Nairobi that the vaccine would replace the water-based vaccine available in the market, the Chinese state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported.

"The vaccine will help Kenya to become a livestock-disease-free zone because it increases livestock immunity to one year from the current four months when farmers use existing vaccines," Wachira was quoted as saying.

Foot-and-mouth disease, which poses a serious threat to Kenya, infects cows, sheep, goats and pigs, although it is not fatal.

"It reduces the weight of the animals and therefore leads to lower milk production in the case of dairy cattle or lower meat production in the case of beef, pigs, goats and sheep," Wachira explained.

Kevevapi said the oil-based vaccine would boost the country's livestock embryo-transfer industry. The East African nation targets to control the disease by 2024.