Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, [email protected]
THE Government has set an ambitious target to significantly scale up cattle vaccination against January Disease, with plans to increase inoculations from 30,000 this season to 500,000 by 2030, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka has said.
The livestock sector remains a critical pillar of Zimbabwe’s agricultural economy, with improved animal health expected to boost productivity, enhance farmer incomes and strengthen national food security.
Responding to questions from legislators in Parliament last week, Dr Masuka said the long-term objective is to ensure the national herd is adequately protected within the next decade through a combined programme of vaccination and intensified tick control.
“This season, we are aiming at having 30,000 injections for the immunisation of cattle. It’s our wish that we have adequate supplies in 2028 or 2030, where we are aiming to have 500,000 inoculations so that in 10 years, all our cattle should be vaccinated,” he said.
Dr Masuka said January Disease, also known as Theileriosis, continues to pose a serious threat to the livestock sector, particularly during periods of high rainfall that create favourable conditions for tick infestations.
“There are a lot of things that we can do to prevent January disease in cattle. First of all, let us understand the term
‘January disease.’ We received a lot of rainfall between November and January this year,” he said.
“As a result, January Disease was prevalent because there were too many ticks, which came out due to heavy rains and these ticks affect our cattle. We had January Disease. Due to climate change, we can now get January Disease even in March or April.”
The minister said Government is implementing multiple interventions to combat the disease, including vaccination campaigns, dipping programmes and the distribution of tick grease under the Presidential Tick Grease Programme.
“It’s a disease that we would want to prevent or inoculate cattle against at all times. As Government, we cannot wait for a single type of virus dosage to protect the cattle. That is why we said we would give tick grease to every household under the Presidential Tick Grease Programme,” he said.
Dr Masuka said intensified dipping remains a key disease control mechanism, particularly during the rainy season when tick populations increase significantly.
“During the rainy season, every week on a Friday or Saturday, cattle go for dipping. We have coined a term that we call 5 5 4, meaning that the cattle have to be dipped once every five days, followed again after five days and thereafter, after four days. This is what we call intensive dipping to protect the cattle against all diseases that come out as a result of ticks,” he said.
The minister noted that mounting pressure on water resources has reduced the reliability of dip tanks, prompting Government to accelerate the rollout of vaccine-based solutions.
“However, due to its increasing prevalence, the dip tanks are running out of water, so we came up with an injection called bolvac, which started in 2021 and continued in 2022,” he said.
“There were 25,000 doses that were made by the Government and these were distributed to 25 districts where the disease was prevalent. We inoculated cattle in those regions. The results showed that the cattle were immune to such a disease for their entire life.”
Dr Masuka urged cattle owners to support national animal health programmes, including contributing towards the maintenance and sustainability of dipping infrastructure.
“Let me take this opportunity to appeal to cattle ranchers that when the Government constructs a dip tank and provides vaccinations, cattle owners are required to pay a US$1 per year for the benefit of their cattle,” he said.
