The Lagos State Government has vaccinated a total of 12,115 animals to prevent further outbreak of anthrax diseases in the state and beyond.
The Commissioner for Ministry of Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, while speaking at a workshop on “Identification, Prevention and Control (IPC) of Zoonotic Diseases-Anthrax and others” on Wednesday said animals in five administrative divisions of the state with Anthrax spore vaccine received prophylactic vaccination from the National Veterinary Research Institute.
Addressing stakeholders in the Livestock Industry, for abattoirs and animal market workers, including the livestock farmers in the Ibile Division of the state, she called for collaboration towards adherence to all protocols established for the containment and control of veterinary disease outbreaks, as they are at high risk of contracting the disease due to the nature of their jobs.
She further disclosed that Lagos recorded the disease in two councils in July 2023, which necessitated the activation of Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) on Anthrax, domiciled in the Ministry of Health with a robust One-Health interplay of Human Health and Animal Health Components to curtail the spread of the disease.
She however applauded the stakeholders for their continuous support and resilience towards the eradication of Anthrax and other zoonotic diseases, adding that efforts of the government in the fight against this disease could not have had maximum impact without their input.