The Kenya Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council (Kenntec) now says 38 counties including the 14 counties hard hit by the drought disaster have been affected by the tsetse flies which are a threat to the animals.
As a result, KENTTEC has intensified the war against Tsetse eradication during this drought pandemic by conducting mass spraying of animals and sensitizing the community on better practices to eliminate them.
The exercise is being vigorously done in the Coastal region which is highly been affected.
KENTTEC Board Chairman Robert Monda said the exercise is going on in Kilifi, Tana river, and Lamu counties with a view to eradicating the disease which affects both human beings and animals.
He spoke at Kajajini village in Malindi after launching a crush and mass spraying of animals where he said the government was keen to eradicate the tsetse menace in the country and called on counties to come on board.
“We are urging the county governments to come on board and allocate funds since agriculture is devolved, we as Kenttec will provide expertise and technicians to guide the farmers and build capacity to ensure the tsetse menace is completely done with,” he said.
Mr Monda said they were in Kwale county in May and sprayed both livestock and wildlife and they are intending to cover all the coastal counties.
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“Farmers need to benefit from the sensitization and interventions we provide and we believe we have the capacity to do that since we are the guys with the technical knowhow,”
He said by helping in eradicating the Tsetse will help both animals and human beings to be healthy.
The official said they had one case of a patient with sleeping sickness in Busia county who completely healed after treatment.
"Our prayer is that we do not get another human being infected by this disease, we believe the disease has not completely been eradicated but we have not received any new case since 2012," he said.
He said they are targeting all animals both domestic and wildlife as they are the ones at risk of being infected by the Tsetse which causes trypanosomiasis in their campaign which is being undertaken in the affected counties, Kenttec conducts mass spraying of animals and sensitization on better tsetse eradication practices.
The situation worsened due to the prolonged drought caused by failed short rains which have forced farmers in most of the areas to migrate looking for pasture
KENTTEC Coast Regional Coordinator Johanna Cheptoo said they are working in all the six counties of the Coast Region to sensitize the farmers on the effects of tsetse and trypanosomiasis.
“In such times, tsetse prevalence is usually very high in most affected areas; mostly transmitted as pastoralists move from place to place looking for greener pastures for their livestock,” he said.
He said in Kilifi Arabuko Sokoke forest harbors the tsetse because there are wildlife that also affects the livestock.
Cheptoo said when the animals are weak due to drought and they get infected by the disease the rate of survival is zero.
"So we need to eliminate the disease so that when the animals are facing drought they can survive from the disease," he said
He called on livestock farmers to spray their animals often during the drought season to help in reducing tsetse in the grazing area.
