Zim in vaccine breakthrough
ZIMBABWE has developed a new vaccine that is expected to bring an end to the devastation being caused by January Disease which killed about 500 000 cattle worth US$175 million at its peak between 2017 and 2019, The Manica Post can reveal.
The Bolvac vaccine was developed by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) with financial support from Government and its development partners.
DVS chief director, Dr Josaphat Nyika said about 20 000 doses have been produced and will be prioritised in hotspots like Manicaland free of charge. However, the pilot vaccination programme that was expected to be launched in Manicaland on Tuesday was postponed to a later date.
Government plans to produce 100 000 doses by year end.
The production of the Bolvac vaccine is a major breakthrough as the country was losing its herd through theileriosis, commonly referred to as January Disease.
Zimbabwe is now ready to roll-out its Integrated Ticks and Tick-Borne Disease Control Strategy (ITTBDCS) which is composed of three main components — dipping, acaricide resistance monitoring and the use of TBD vaccines.
The Department of Veterinary Services is on record saying about 500 000 cattle, with an estimated value of US$175 million, were wiped out between 2017 and 2019 by January Disease, which is caused by irregular dipping.
Animal health experts say with a national herd of 5.6 million cattle, this means the country lost 8.9 percent of its herd over the two years.
Severe shortages of dipping chemicals resulted in serious disruptions to the communal dipping programme, resulting in cattle going for more than two months without dipping and succumbing to tick-borne diseases.
Although the incidence of four tick-borne diseases went up during the period under review, theileriosis turned out to be the biggest problem, wreaking havoc even outside the rainy season it usually rears its ugly head.
Theileriosis, coupled with drinking water and grazing land shortages, forced communal farmers to accrue huge losses as they either watched helplessly as their cattle died or panicked and sold their livestock for a song.
Experts have therefore applauded Government for the production of the Bolvac vaccine which is expected to address livestock diseases confronting small-holder farmers.
“This is a breakthrough and we are now in the clinical field trial phase. This is going to change the landscape of fighting theileriosis,” said Dr Nyika.
He warned farmers against complacency, arguing that theileriosis is one of the four major tick-borne diseases — namely gall sickness, redwater and heartwater, which can only be effectively controlled through regular and coordinated dipping.
“The vaccine is not an end in itself, but one of the weapons to fight against tick-borne diseases. The most effective way to control tick-borne diseases, including January Disease, is regular dipping.
“Although we have made a breakthrough in producing the vaccine, the core of tick-borne diseases control is dipping. If you vaccinate cattle against January Disease then stop dipping them, it will not protect the herd against the other three diseases. So dipping is holistic and cost effective,” he said.
Dr Nyika also applauded the Presidential Tick Grease Programme which is continuing into the 2022/23 season.
He said the programme assisted in helping reduce cattle mortality.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa introduced the tick grease blitz which saw cattle mortality being reduced by 39 percent.
“The Presidential Tick Grease Programme is continuing and will bolster our efforts to hit the diseases hard. We had fewer cattle deaths in the last two seasons when compared to the period between 2017 and 2019,” he said.
Livestock expert, Professor Joseph Kamuzhanje applauded Government for addressing the livestock diseases confronting smallholder farmers.
He said the rainy season is the most difficult for livestock farmers due to high infestation of ticks. Prof Kamuzhanje said farmers should dip their cattle at least once a week.
On animal feed, he said farmers can plant fodder crops for use during dry months.
“The development of the Bolvac vaccine is a continuation of efforts on research and development, which are critical for any sector of the economy. Government must be applauded for its efforts in addressing livestock diseases. As diseases mutate, it is important to keep pace with them and this is one way of doing that,” said Prof Kamhuzhanje.
“However, vaccination has always been an expensive exercise. It is important to ensure that Bolvac is affordable and accessible to all farmers, otherwise this vaccine will not have the necessary and desired impact.
“This development shows that as a country we have the capacity to produce these products. There are no excuses for not producing our own vaccines,” he said.
Prof Kamuzhanje stressed the need to capicitate the DVS and the Department of Research and Specialist Services so that they remain at the forefront of fighting livestock and crop diseases.