NARO in advance stages to avert ticks
By Patrick Okino
The National Agricultural Research Organisation is at advanced stages to roll out NAROVAC, a new vaccine developed to avert ticks related diseases in livestock.
According to NARO, Uganda loses sh3.8trillion annually for the treatment of diseases transmitted by ticks to livestock.
It says the transmission results in anemia, high treatment costs, control measures, production losses, low grade products thus loss of market and death of livestock.
The principal investigator, Dr Fredrick Kabi recently says the effect locks Ugandan farmers in poverty.
Dr Kabi was making a presentation to a media training session focused on NARO`s cutting-edge research and innovation with particular emphasis on the development and scaling of the anti-ticks vaccine.
The training held in Lira City was central to NARO`s efforts in supporting livestock health and boosting agricultural productivity.
He says acaricides have been used to kill ticks for over 100 years thus gradual loss of potency, environmental and food contamination and death of non-targeted organisms.
He says in an attempt to stamp out the burden, NARO has developed an efficacious vaccine against ticks that transmit fatal livestock diseases in Uganda.
“Mass production and roll out of the new vaccine, NAROVAC, anti-ticks vaccine will start soon,” Dr Kabi says adding that infrastructure and core human resources are in place to support the process.
According to Dr Kabi the vaccine product does not interfere with the normal physiological functions of animals.
He said metabolite traces in the milk and faecal matter presents no evident risk to the consumers and the environment.
He said the test product triggers anti-subolesin anti-bodies production which disrupts affecting blood meal uptake.
He added that the anti-subolesin antibodies further block oviposition and hatchability thus disrupting the lifecycle of the tick.
“The vaccine has exhibited the ability to control multiple tick species,” he said.
He said the journey to develop the vaccine started in 2013 and that as NARO they are grateful to President Yoweri Museveni for his wise guidance and support of the process.
NARO, Kabi said, is also grateful to the government through the ministry of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries including the ministry of finance, planning and economic development for solely supporting the research and development of the vaccine and its evaluation, construction of the production facility and the commercialization process.
