The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has provided 50,000 doses of the vaccine to the Lagos State Government in the fight against Anthrax .
On Tuesday, FMARD, in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), began a three-day sensitization tour to the state Ministry of Agriculture to prevent the spread of the illness.
The delegation made a courtesy call on the permanent secretary and the Cattle Market Abattoir in Oko-oba Agege, the report said.
The FMARD Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the Deputy Director, Dr. AbdulKareem Durosinlorun, stated that the vaccination sensitization and donation were part of the ministry’s attempts to manage the illness epidemic.
“As some of you may be aware, there has been a confirmed outbreak of Anthrax disease in the country, in the states of Niger and Lagos.”
“The purpose of our visit is to raise awareness and sensitize stakeholders in Nigeria about disease prevention and control.”
“We have also provided the state with 50,000 free doses of the Anthrax vaccine in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA).”
“The Agege Oko-oba cattle market and abattoir is one of the state’s largest markets.”
“Cattle merchants and butchers must be aware of the symptoms and signs of this disease in order to notify veterinary authorities as soon as possible.”
“We met with the state’s permanent secretary of agriculture, and she assured us that vaccination has started,” Umakhihe added.
Mrs. Ibironke Emokpae, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, thanked FMARD for its assistance in containing the spread of the Anthrax illness in her response.
“We appreciate FMARD and the FAO, and we are delighted to receive 50,000 doses of the Anthrax vaccine to help prevent disease spread.”
“Vaccinations have begun in the state, and we have established surveillance and biosecurity at abattoir entry points in Lagos to detect any ailing animals.”
“We are collaborating with the Lagos Ministry of Health and promise to put in more efforts to prevent the spread of the disease,” Emokpae added.
Dr. Otto Muhinda, Nigeria Country Team Leader, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, also praised the government for its efforts to raise illness awareness and prevention.
“We are here to assist the government in monitoring the outbreak.”
“We’ve seen that awareness is very high; we appreciate how people, local governments, butchers, and cattle merchants are aware of this outbreak.”
“We look forward to continuing monitoring in other states; we need to sensitizes more stakeholders on a national level for a national strategy to stop the disease’s spread.”
“We are pleased with what the government is doing,” Muhinda stated.
In response, Alhaji Abdullahi Lalega, head of the Miyetti Allah livestock association and Oko-oba/Agege livestock market, stated that cattle merchants and butchers are willing to work with the government to combat the illness.
“When we first learned of the Anthrax outbreak, veterinary doctors from the Ministry of Agriculture came to educate and sensitize us on how to detect the disease in cattle.”
“As a result, we called our cattle merchants and dealers and informed them of the situation in the country.” And to guarantee that they purchase healthy cows from the source of their livestock.
“We have warned our members to be cautious in order to prevent disease spread and to work closely with veterinary doctors.”
“So, we lectured our people, and everyone agreed that we should support the doctors in their work, and if we see a cow we don’t like, we show them to check it out,” Lalega explained.
Dr. Emeka Asiegbu of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) stated that all hands are on deck to combat the Anthrax illness.
“What we are doing now is the right thing to do because the outbreak has only been going on for about three weeks, and we are already launching actions in various states.”
“We are in Lagos today as a work in progress because we have a lot of things in mind to do with time as we begin this programme.”
“For the time being, I would say that awareness is becoming more popular or widespread, but there is still more enlightenment that needs to be done in the future,” Asiegbu added.
