The government has sent a batch of vaccines to the Midlands Province in an effort to stop theileriosis also known as the January disease.

The development was revealed by Dr John Basera, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development. He is quoted by ZBC News as saying:

We have dispatched a delegation from the veterinary services to assess, monitor and provide awareness on the importance of religiously dipping cattle. We have released a variety of vaccines to the affected areas as part of our efforts to contain the disease.

We are calling on all farmers to dip their cattle religiously for the next two years – we are going to invoking the Animal Health Act which stipulates that all farmers who fail to dip their cattle will be arrested.

The January disease has killed over 500 000 cattle in recent years, leading the government to implement the tick-grease campaign, which was successful in lowering the number of deaths by 37% in 2017.

Fever, severe lymph node swelling, stopping to graze, discharge from the eyes and nose, loss of body condition, and mortality are the main symptoms of the illness.

Theileria Parva, a parasite that lives in the blood and is spread between cattle via ticks, is the cause of theileriosis.

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