Lack of knowledge on livestock disease prevention can wipe out your profits in a flash.
Losses come in preventable illnesses, veterinary fees, poor livestock performance and deaths.
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Sometimes as in the case of anthrax, there is the carcass disposal cost and medical costs for people, especially workers, exposed to the disease.
Many cattle farmers have enquired what vaccines they should routinely give to their animals.
I have said before that vaccination, in addition to preventing infections, also helps in fighting the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in both animals and humans.
In most cases of infections by viruses and bacteria, drugs are used to treat both.
Prevention threshold
When we use these antimicrobials frequently, we run the risk of inducing the germs to develop resistance against the antimicrobials.
This resistance is known to be problematic to humans when resistant bacteria infect them making previously curable diseases incurable.
Cattle farmers should routinely vaccinate their animals against nine common diseases.
However, most farmers only know about and vaccinate against foot and mouth disease (FMD), lumpy skin disease (LSD), anthrax and black quarter.
Some farmers will vaccinate against a disease but once it appears to have disappeared from their locality, they stop vaccinating to save on the cost of production.
Unfortunately, diseases do not announce their recurrence.
They just infect the animals once the immunity goes below the prevention threshold.
FMD is a devastating disease affecting the feet and mouth of cattle.
It causes lameness and inability to eat due to sores in the mouth.
Most affected animals die of starvation.
Survivors may become permanently unthrifty.
Anthrax is caused by the Bacillus anthracis bacteria.
Its hallmark is sudden death of apparently healthy animals, rapid bloating of the carcass and dark blood oozes from all body openings.
Anthrax also affects humans and other animals such as dogs and cats if they come into contact with the carcasses.
Farmers can prevent these diseases
Black quarter is another bacterial disease that kills suddenly.
It causes blackening and death of the heavy muscles and profuse production of gas, hence the name black quarter.
LSD causes nodules all over the skin and mouth, and ulcers in the gastro-intestinal tract.
It is a viral disease that has no cure.
Other diseases that should be vaccinated against in cattle are acute (sudden onset) pneumonia caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida and Manheimia haemolytica.
There is also enterotoxaemia of calves caused by the Clostridium perfrigens bacteria.
Calves may have severe diarrhoea or die suddenly.
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) bacteria cause fatal pneumonia over a period of a few days in cattle in certain geographical regions of the country.
Finally, there is Rift Valley Fever (RVF), a viral disease that causes bleeding in all parts of the body.
Humans and other animals may also be affected.
The disease is spread by mosquitoes and causes many deaths.
Farmers can prevent all these diseases and forestall attendant losses by vaccinating their animals.
The slightly edited piece written by Dr Joseph Mugachia, a Veterinary doctor, appeared in Nation of Kenya
