ARUSHA, Tanzania, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has started a vaccination campaign against anthrax, an infection that affects livestock, wildlife and human beings, an official said Wednesday.
Bedan Masuruli, registrar of the Tanzania Veterinary Council, said the campaign, launched in northern Tanzania's safari capital Arusha, targets thousands of livestock in a new drive to fight against anthrax, an infection caused by the bacterium bacillus anthracis.
He said that cattle, sheep, and goats are highly at risk for anthrax, hence they will be vaccinated during a one-week campaign, which is being supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The disease is more serious in areas located in the Great Rift Valley in northern Tanzania, including two districts of Arusha, Ngorongoro and Monduli, Masuruli said.
People in such areas, predominantly Maasai pastoralists, had been susceptible to the deadly disease as they had tendencies of eating raw meat of livestock succumbed to unknown diseases, he said.
"That's why even in this campaign, we're focusing on two districts which are dominated by pastoralists, who had been eating meat without taking precautionary measures," Masuruli said.
Masuruli called for more awareness education, particularly in areas highly affected by the disease.
In September, an outbreak of anthrax, which occurs in four forms -- skin, inhalation, intestinal, and injection -- killed at least 42 hippopotami in south-central Tanzania's famed Ruaha National Park. Enditem
