September 28th, 2011, Eugenia Njau and Karim Athuman Muhsin finished up a week’s worth of fieldwork giving bovine vaccinations in Ilkiding’a Ward, Arumeru District, Arusha, Tanzania. Both employed by the Arusha District Council (ADC), under the Tanzania Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, their task was to venture home to home offering government rationed vaccines to prevent the spread of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) among cattle. The bomas are scattered throughout the foothills of Mt. Meru’s southern slopes with mostly footpaths connecting one another and some spectacular views of the city from the high clearings. Here there seems to be a strong sense of community and connections between families, for many have resided here for generations. With the help of a few elders escorting the two veterinary workers to neighboring bomas that kept cows, the attempt was to reach every boma and record the name of the plot owner, how many cows they own, and whether or not they accepted the vaccine for CBPP. Even though this airborne disease, also known as, ‘lung plague’, has once again become fairly prevalent in this region of the continent, it is still refused by many livestock owners due to lack of education or understanding of the vaccine in question. There is also a reasonable amount of doubt among some that the medicine is in fact healthy for the animal and for those that consume its milk or meat after treatment. Given that these communities are steeped in tradition of a relatively basic means of subsistence, along with some illiteracy and a lack of trust in modern medicine, it’s not hard to understand why people are hesitant to allow injections to be given to their animals which they value for their livelihoods. Although it’s understandable, it is however a hindrance to the efforts of eradicating this disease that was once thought to be under control throughout the continent, but since the ‘80s and 90’s has sprung up again in African countries, in some places where there was no more presence of CBPP for over 25 years. Of the approximately 650 cattle belonging to approximately 250 residences in Ilkiding’a, their data shows that only 31 residents refused the injection, totaling a sum of 85 cattle that did not receive the vaccine. However, this does represent progress, and thanks to the availability of this vaccine, which was provided as aid from the European Union (EU), Karim and Eugenia, under the ADC, are working hard to provide and encourage these preventative measures to help quell this disease city-wide, which is an essential step in helping to reach total eradication country-wide and throughout the contintent.
With the antidote combined in a small bottle with a white powder bolus and mixed with a diluent of 100ml (cc), efforts are made to give injections during the dryer months. This amount is sufficient to treat about 100 cattle with a recommended dose of about 1ml (cc) per cow, but it has proven less effective to give vaccinations during the rainy season when the infectious disease is more prevalent and many cows are in need of treatment rather than vaccination.
September 28th, 2011, Eugenia Njau and Karim Athuman Muhsin finished up a week’s worth of fieldwork giving bovine vaccinations in Ilkiding’a Ward, Arumeru District, Arusha, Tanzania. Both employed by the Arusha District Council (ADC), under the Tanzania Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, their task was to venture home to home offering government rationed vaccines to prevent the spread of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) among cattle. The bomas are scattered throughout the foothills of Mt. Meru’s southern slopes with mostly footpaths connecting one another and some spectacular views of the city from the high clearings. Here there seems to be a strong sense of community and connections between families, for many have resided here for generations. With the help of a few elders escorting the two veterinary workers to neighboring bomas that kept cows, the attempt was to reach every boma and record the name of the plot owner, how many cows they own, and whether or not they accepted the vaccine for CBPP. Even though this airborne disease, also known as, ‘lung plague’, has once again become fairly prevalent in this region of the continent, it is still refused by many livestock owners due to lack of education or understanding of the vaccine in question. There is also a reasonable amount of doubt among some that the medicine is in fact healthy for the animal and for those that consume its milk or meat after treatment. Given that these communities are steeped in tradition of a relatively basic means of subsistence, along with some illiteracy and a lack of trust in modern medicine, it’s not hard to understand why people are hesitant to allow injections to be given to their animals which they value for their livelihoods. Although it’s understandable, it is however a hindrance to the efforts of eradicating this disease that was once thought to be under control throughout the continent, but since the ‘80s and 90’s has sprung up again in African countries, in some places where there was no more presence of CBPP for over 25 years. Of the approximately 650 cattle belonging to approximately 250 residences in Ilkiding’a, their data shows that only 31 residents refused the injection, totaling a sum of 85 cattle that did not receive the vaccine. However, this does represent progress, and thanks to the availability of this vaccine, which was provided as aid from the European Union (EU), Karim and Eugenia, under the ADC, are working hard to provide and encourage these preventative measures to help quell this disease city-wide, which is an essential step in helping to reach total eradication country-wide and throughout the contintent.
With the antidote combined in a small bottle with a white powder bolus and mixed with a diluent of 100ml (cc), efforts are made to give injections during the dryer months. This amount is sufficient to treat about 100 cattle with a recommended dose of about 1ml (cc) per cow, but it has proven less effective to give vaccinations during the rainy season when the infectious disease is more prevalent and many cows are in need of treatment rather than vaccination. 
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