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Issue 2; August 1999
Contents:
Animal Health Status in Somalia - Quarterly Report
FMD Epidemic Devastates Cattle population in Southern Somalia
Human Rabies - an Epidemic
Achievements in Jeopardy - Rinderpest
Coming Events
Animal Health Status in Somalia - Quarterly Report
Animal health in Somalia, is a dynamic event, which after it had been progressively deteriorating for the past decade, has now reached a stage where the livestock in this country is feared to extinct. Contemplating on and evaluating the available veterinary services in Somalia, how degraded animal health is, can be literally imaginable.
Although animal rearing practice in Somalia, is predominantly extensive, population density is high enough to rule permanent contiguity of herds. The herd immunity is very low and as no vaccination campaigns are carried out since 1990, animals are only immune against those diseases, the herds have already experienced their infections. The mater is pushed further, by increased animal dynamics, due to insecurity.
In view of the above, animal health in Somalia is always in a lamentable situation. However, in the past three months, animal health was more stable than expected. Apart from FMD in the south which persisted in the area since the beginning of this year, occurrence of major epidemics of any list A" disease have not been reported.
Excessive deaths of small ruminants and cattle reported in central Somalia, was probably due to the prolonged dry season. Many herds are known to have extinct from thirst and starvation.
It is not unusual in Somalia to observe seasons of heavy epidemics intercalated by short stable seasons. The health stability and improvement recognized in Somalia during last three months is dangled with a delicate thread.
Report by the Animal Disease Emergencies Unit
Somali Veterinary Association
FMD Epidemic in Southern Somalia
An epidemic of Foot and Mouth Disease (Cabeeb) was reported to have been spreading in Southern Somalia regions of Lower and Middle Jubba. The disease was endemic in the area for long time, but, it has never constituted that severe animal health problem. Furthermore, in Somalia, FMD is considered economically unimportant. This is probably due to two main factors:
- Cabeeb is normally not a killer disease and owners are rarely concerned to a disease as far as it does not cause drastic reduction in the number of their stock.
- While the untoward effect of FMD is mainly a sharp drop in milk yield, the milk production of the cattle breeds in Somalia, is virtually lower than the reduction can play havoc with their lives.
The disease this time was different. Accumulative deaths due to FMD since the beginning of this year is estimated by Sultan Abdullahi H. Mohamed, one of the important clan elders in Kismayo, at more than one million heads of cattle. Although death among calves is higher than in adult animals, the later group was also unusually affected.
Taking into account the international concerns and health codes, FMD in Somalia should be regarded among the most important animal diseases and hopefully the last epidemic have drawn the attention of the owners that FMD is no longer the mild disease that they used to overlook.
By: Abdirashid Sh. Ahmed
Human Rabies. More than 100 dog/fox bite victims die.
In recent years, there have been increasing dog bite accidents in many parts of Somalia. Wild canine and feline species have been seen with abnormal behavior and have in many occasions attacked people the villages. In Bur'o in the north, a bitter fight erupted between inhabitants and invading carnivores in 1996. Eleven hyenas and 3 people were killed, of whom two have passed away in one year after the exposure to the bites.
The same thing happened in Qoryoley last year and in this district alone, of those exposed to dog bite more than 25 are known to have later developed symptoms of rabies and dead. Likewise, large number dogs and foxes have ambushed the district of Barava in September 1998 and have victimized many people. Similar event occurred in many parts of Somalia including Mogadishu, Baydava, Afgoye, Jilib, and Marerey.
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