Diseases carried by ticks
Practical Action
Cut 0.5 kg of fleshy sisal (Agave americana) leaf and boil in 1 litre of water until the
water evaporates to half the original amount. Cut 0.5 kg of bark from Croton
megalocarpus and boil in 1 litre of water until the water evaporates to half the original
amount. Mix the two liquids and drench 0.5 litre in the morning and 0.5 litre in the
evening. The Embu people believe this treatment combats fever and is antibacterial.
(Embu, 3)
Cut leaves ofbaobab (Adansonia digitata) into small pieces. Add a little salt lick. Crush
several baobab fruits together in a mortar and mix with the chopped leaves. Allow the
animal to eat as much of the mixture as it wants. (Embu,2)
Crush 0.5 kg of leaves and roots of olulusia (Vernonia amygdalina or V
auriculifera) and osembo (Sesbania sp.) and mix with the same amount of water.
Add a teaspoonful of salt and boil the solution for 30 minutes. Drench. (Luo, 3)
Boil 250 g of leaves of each of soket iWarburgia ugandensis) and manereriat
(Gerrardanthus lobatus) in 1 litre of water for 30 minutes. Drench 700 ml of the liquid
once a day for 3 days. (Kipsigis,3)
Soak about 1 glassful of dry kundet (Vigna unguiculata) beans in 0.5 litre of water and
boil for 20 minutes. Sieve and drench adult animals with 1 Fanta bottle (300 ml) of the
liquid. (Cattle; Kipsigis, 3)
Heartwater
A serious disease of cattle, goats and sheep. It occurs
especially during the rains.
Also known as
Signs
Lack of appetite.
Constant chewing movements.
Occasional diarrhoea.
Animal walks with a stiff, uneven gait.
Exaggerated blinking.
Fever.
Animal presses its head against objects.
Animal falls down, kicks and throws its limbs.
If the animal is slaughtered, there is a lot of water
around the heart.
Qanno ree (Gabbra), chepkiyait
(Kipsigis), hawirawira (Luo),
olmilo (Maasai), amili (Turkana)
Cause
A micro-organism transmitted by ticks.
Prevention
See the general comments on prevention.
Bont (Amblyomma) tick: Carries
heartwater
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