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Violet Chenyika
THE Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) has produced over 14 million doses of vaccines for livestock to combat the surge in vector-borne diseases during the 2024/2025 rainy season, a development that is expected to significantly reduce deaths and cut costly imports.
Zimbabwe generally witnesses an increase in vector-borne livestock diseases, with tick-borne ailments having accounted for 3 393 and 2 756 cattle deaths in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, DVS epidemiology and informatics deputy director Dr Samuel Swiswa said the 19 percent reduction in livestock deaths over the last year can be attributed to intensified vaccination and rollout of the Integrated Tick and Tick-Borne Disease Control Strategy (ITTBDCS).
“The Government of Zimbabwe, through its Directorate of Veterinary Services within the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, produces quite a number of animal vaccines locally, including three tick-borne disease vaccines (for the January disease, redwater and gallsickness) for cattle, the Newcastle disease vaccine for poultry (chickens) and the autogenous bovine warts vaccine for cattle.”
All the vaccines, he said, are distributed countrywide, especially to high-risk areas.
“The rainy season is traditionally known to bring with it an increase in incidents of vector-borne diseases, which include tick-borne diseases such as theileriosis.
“In preparation for the 2024/2025 rainy season, DVS has produced 115 000 doses of the January disease (theileriosis) vaccine in the year 2024 to protect animals from the disease. In addition, 40 000 doses each of the redwater and gallsickness vaccines were produced to mitigate against these tick-borne infections.”
“Apart from the tick-borne disease vaccines, DVS has also produced 14 million doses of the Newcastle disease vaccine and 1 590 doses of the autogenous bovine warts vaccine in the year 2024 to further protect the nation’s livestock.”
Dr Swiswa said the ITTBDCS aims to curb tick-borne infections through a three-pronged strategy — strategic cattle dipping, vaccinations and acaricide resistance monitoring.
“In 2023 and 2024, a total of 3 393 and 2 756 cattle succumbed to tick-borne diseases in the country, respectively,” he added.
“However, this 19 percent reduction in livestock deaths from 2023 to 2024 cannot be attributed to vaccination alone . . . all three components of the ITTBDCS have probably contributed to the reduced tick-borne disease burden seen across the years 2023 and 2024.”
Online Reporter