LENGASIT COMMUNITY ANIMAL HEALTH WORKERS TRAINING REPORT MARCH 2010

1.1 Course content:

1.2 Selection of participants for the program

Ten community based members of Lengasit village were selected by general village meeting, initially

all participants were men but we asked the leader to rethink of include some women in the team.

Thanks to the leaders, at the second general meeting, three women were selected for training.

THE LIST OF MEMBERS ATTENDED TWELVE DAYS COMMUNITY ANIMAL HEALTH WORKERS TRAINING

HELD IN LENGASIT VILLAGE IN SIMANJIRO, MANYARA REGION.

S/N NAMES SEX SUBVILLAGE

1. Phillimon Merika MALE ENGUSERO

2. Baraka Labara MALE ENGUSERO

3. Salome Alais FEMALE ENDONYO NAPI

4. Peshuti Kutatoi MALE ENDONYO NAPI

5. Namayani Kariongi FEMALE ENDONYO NAPI

6. Saningó Sandiko MALE ENDONYO NAPI

7. Lazaro Thomas MALE ENGUSERO

8. Maningo Saittoa MALE ENDONYO NAPI

9. Magilu Gitesoi MALE ENGUSERO

10. Elizabeth Paulo FEMALE ENGUSERO

TRAINING DURATION AND COVERAGE

The training was conducted for twelve days and was divided into two sessions the theory and

practical session. The course content was designed using the standard, Ministry of livestock

development and fisheries curriculum and incorporating new themes of HIV/AIDS prevention, control

and impact mitigation so as to try to meet trainee’s expectations on animal and public health

expectations.

The first session was pure theories were trainees were taken through role of the community animal

health workers and reporting structure. Trainees were then taken to different animal diseases,

disease prevention, and control as well as different management procedures. We started with

introduction and orientation of community animal health workers to principals, role, responsibility

and reporting system from the village through the district. How they will be working, how to work

with livestock keepers and where to report diseases to and all necessary information regarding

handling of clients.

Trainees were further highlighted on body systems of the animals and their functions while the

animals are physiologically health as well as when the animals are sick. We managed to introduce

them to different routine examination equipments and measurements such as the use of

thermometer, weighing band and glass slide for blood and lymph smears. Trainees were thoroughly

trained on how to observe the animal for proper diagnosis of diseases. Participants were told to start

observing the animals at distant and later at closer examination to pick all necessary clinical signs.

The trainees were trained to use system by system examination while observing the animals for

proper diagnosis of diseases. Trainees were also introduced to the basic principles of pharmacology

and the use of drugs.

How to read manufacturer instructions on the drug bottles

o Route of administration

o Dosage

o Withdrawal period

o Expire dates

o Species indicated for the drug.

o Proper storage of drugs

o How to charge a client before and after treatment

Specimen taking

o Blood smear

o Lymph smear

How to report disease incidence to the ward livestock field officers and to the village government:

the importance of disease surveillance systems

LIVESTOCK DISEASES COVERED

Tick-borne diseases:

ECF, Anaplasmosis, Ormillo, heartwater, babesiosis, Nairobi sheep disease

TSETSE BORNE DISEASES; Trypanosomosis

Ticks and Tsetse control and Acaricides

Zoonotic diseases: RVF, Brucellosis, Tuberculosis, Anthrax, Zoonotic Cestodes, Rabies

Control of worm infestation and deworming

Stomatitis conditions: FMD, MCF and PPR

Clostridium diseases; black quarter

PNEUMONIA

Parasitic pneumonia due to worms, CBPP and CCPP

Lameness condition; Foot rot, Ephemeral Fever and black leg

Skin condition; Mange, Pox and plant poisoning

Mastitis

Management procedure; Castration and dehorning methods

Calves management and feeding

Wounds and abscesses management

Newcastle disease control

The second part of the training was practical where trainees were practicing what they have been

trained in the class.

During our practical sessions the following diseases were observed and managed

• Skin conditions; Mange

• Viral cases; Sheep and goat pox

• Above photo: Typical Goat Pox lesion on the skin taken at Lengasit Simanjiro by Dr.

Roggers Mosha.

• Pneumonias in goats and cattle

• Wounds management

• Eyes infection in cattle with opacity and purulent discharges as well as impaired visibility.

• Plant poisoning

• Anaplasmosis and Trypanasomiasis

• Cases of CCPP and CBPP

• Abortion in goats and sheep

• Abortion in cattle

Management and diagnostic procedures performed during practical session was

• Prepare blood and lymph smears

• Deworming

• Dehorning

• Castration

The final session was closure of the training and handling over the drug kits to ten Community animal

health workers as shown below.

CHALLENGES FOR THE COMMUNITY ANIMAL HEALTH WORKES WITHIN LENGASIT VILLAGE

The remoteness of the village makes it extremely possible to collect sample and send them to nearby

diagnostic facility. This necessitates thinking about establishing a simple diagnostic facility to enable

them to perform their job effectively and serves the lives of livestock of the poor pastoralist

communities. This will require selection of two or four community animal health workers to be

trained for four weeks divided into two weeks sessions of two weeks each on simple laboratory

techniques and diagnostic procedures. This will allow them to diagnose Theilleria, Babesia,

Trypanosomes and Bacilli as well as Clostridia spp. at village level.

The village is highly infested with ticks and tick borne diseases are the major challenge and to some

extent trypanasomiasis is also a challenge to the area. Viral conditions such as Peste des Petit

Ruminants (PPR) and Pox in small stocks (goat and sheep) is increasingly become a threat to the

community. The government of Tanzania has supported the vaccination program in all pastoralist

areas for the PPR but sheep and goat pox has not yet supported and the disease is killing huge

number of kids and lambs as well as high abortion rate in infected flocks despite the fact that the

disease can be controlled easily by vaccination program.

CONCLUSION

Lengasit village has huge livestock population and like other pastoralist areas there is no reliable

disease control program for their livestock. I have observed lots of cattle and especially calves those

have been vaccinated against East Coast Fever (ECF) which was really good initiative from DIO

Netherland to support ECF vaccination program. I was told that livestock keepers also do send their

livestock for dipping. My concern is the dipping is not regular done and the quality of the acaricide in

the dip tank is not properly controlled.

During my stay in the village, I managed to work with community and discussed many issues from

disease prevention and control as well as management procedure of their livestock. The following

were my observations; Community has a number of traditional medicines/ ethno veterinary

knowledge of treating their animals. Some of those remedies cure their animals and some do not but

they still use them. This is partly because of being very far from conversional veterinary service

delivery system or as part of their rational coping strategy in remote areas.

I also observed that, community use variety of human preparation to treat their animal and

administer them using the wrong route to the animals. This is not only cause economic loss due to

increase cost of treatment of animals but also general loss due to mortalities caused by wrong

treatment of animals. This problem was thoroughly discussed and was effectively addressed during

our practical session with trainees.

The graduates of the community animal health worker training are now able to use the right drugs to

the correct disease condition and at correct dosage. We asked the graduates to become our

ambassador of proper utilization of veterinary drugs and they should use their knowledge to provide

extension services to livestock keepers in and outside Lengasit village within Simanjiro district.

I would like to thanks the people of Lengasit Village for giving us a wonderful opportunity to work

within their village, with their livestock and for cooperation they shown to the project. I would like

also to thank DIO for their financial support and design of the project