Authorities employ measures to fight Swine fever in the North

In 2011, the outbreak of African swine fever in Kousseri, in Extreme-North, generated an epidemic which spread to three of the four departments of the area close to the North, following a crisis in Benoué.

Now in August 2014, Kousseri is again victim of the disease, following the infection which started in Ndjamena, Chad. And, in spite of the measures taken by the local administrative authority, the threat on the area is real.

To take the preventive measures which are essential, the persons in charge for the engineering departments of the ministry of Fishing and animal Industries (Minepia) in the North, met in Garoua last Monday.

Their work centred on the prevention of the African swine fever and virus with hemorrhagic Ebola fever. In his opening speeches, Dr. Garga Gonne, regional delegate of Minepia for North recalled the stakes which underlie the response against these two threats.

With a population of a little more than 34,000 animals, the pig herd of the area represents one of the economic pillars of the sector breeding in the district.

At the time of the last epidemic in 2011, the losses had been big. As for the Ebola viruses, the danger goes beyond fauna and threatens human health and life. "Taking into account, how strong and contagiousness these endemics are, it would be difficult to control the circulation of products and people with the porous borders. Tt is therefore necessary to work out a plan of prevention and control for the area of North", explained the regional delegate.