Beef cattle production and management
Practical Action
3. Tsetse fly control
Tsetse flies are transmitters of trypanosomosis. In
addition, animals are irritated by the painful
bites of the flies and they also cause blood loss.
The most commonly methods of tsetse fly control
are the following:
Traps – attract and catch flies for surveillance.
Targets – attract and kill flies. At least four
traps or targets are incorporated per every square kilometre to controTl tsseettssee ffllyies.
Dipping - Acaricides with pyrethroids as the active ingredient are mainly used to
control tsetse flies.
Other ways of controlIing the flies but are not as effective as the ones above are:
Bush clearing
Spraying the ground
Sterile male release technique
4. Vaccinations
A vaccine is a preparation containing an infectious agent in a form, which does not cause
disease, and when given to an animal it will produce resistance to that specific disease. When
exposed to that infectious agent, the animal will not suffer from that disease.
Farmers routinely vaccinate against the following common diseases:
Lumpy Skin Disease
Cattle are vaccinated between August and October and the vaccination is repeated annually.
Brucellosis (Contagious Abortion)
Animals between 3 and 8 months are vaccinated once only. Bulls and pregnant animals should
not be vaccinated. Also, avoid using antibiotics at the same time when vaccinations are made.
Anthrax
Cattle are vaccinated annually in endemic areas.
Tick Borne Diseases
Animals are vaccinated in winter and the vaccine protects for the entire life of the animal.
Trypanosomosis
Cattle are vaccinated annually using Samorin.
5. Common diseases
a. Tick borne diseases
Gall Sickness (Anaplasmosis)
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