Livestock: FG, FAO to eradicate PPR disease

PPR disease

In a bit to enhance livestock production of ruminants, the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria has said that aggressive effort to eradicate Peste Des Petits Ruminats (PPR) before 2030 in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has begun. Chief Veterinary Officer, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Dr. Gideon Mshelbwala told Food farm News recently in his office.

Dr. Mshelbwala said that a 50 year plan has been designed as a strategy to kick out the virus which is known as sheep and goat plague saying it was a highly contagious animal disease affecting small ruminants, and currently the deadliest of all in Nigeria and other countries of the continent. The virus has currently infected up to 90 percent of sheep and goats on globe killing 30 to 70 percent, although according to him, no proven evidence of being transferable to humans.

The disease he said has spread to large regions in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and today, more than 70 countries have confirmed PPR within their borders, and many countries are at risk of the disease being introduced while 2 million vaccines have been given out through the National Veterinary Research Institute ( NVRI) Vom for the control the wide spread of the disease in the affected states in Nigeria saying a global PPR control and eradication strategy is currently receiving FAO support against trans- boundary animal diseases with good emergency management .

According to him, the FAO global work on animal disease preparedness focuses on prevention by keeping the virus from entering a country or a region through an efficient quarantine, border security, cross-border coordination, good biosecurity, and prompt response to control whenever there was an outbreak to prevent wide spread, emphasised on the need for an independent national vaccine bank for immediate response to any animal disease outbreak in the country with a well synchronized data from the states. He pointed that the department would continue to advocate for good animal husbandry during the process of milking to avoid contamination.

He advocated that veterinary services need more fund to help sensitize more livestock farmers to increase their knowledge and skills in milk, meat and other products so as to boost income earnings and making nutritious food available, stressing that the department will use their new capacities to improve services towards more healthy animals productivity.

He also hinted that the FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) are mobilizing the international communities around a new global initiative, to enforce the fight to eradicate PPR by 2030 as there is already a 50 year plan to facilitate the eradication PPR and to sustainably improve small ruminants.