Domestic animals are being vaccinated in Thika East sub county to prevent expected outbreak of Rift Valley Fever within Gatuanyaga, Ngoluba, Muguga, Munyu and the lower parts of the sub county.
This is according to the chief officer in charge of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Kiambu County government Jane Muigai.
Muigai said lower parts of Thika East bordering Yatta sub county of Machakos County have experienced the fever before due to the heavy rains pounding most parts of the county.
“We have taken measures to prevent massive deaths of dogs, donkeys, sheep, cows and goats from contracting the fever as a way of disaster preparedness,” Muigai said.
The chief officer said animals in Thika constituency as a whole have been on quarantine since August 2015 following outbreak of lumpy skin disease in the region.
“No domestic animal is allowed to get out of its shade to prevent spread of the disease to other animals within the area,” she said.
She called on farmers to avail their animals to respective places of vaccination as guided by their area chiefs.
The exercise, which started yesterday (Tuesday) in Muguga and Munyu areas is expected to end on November 20, 2015 in the region and commence in other parts yet to be identified after that date.
The department targets 1,000 donkeys, 5,000 dogs and 100, 000 sheep from the region according to the officer’s statement to the press.