By Mulengera Reporters
Views continuing to be expressed on the Kenyan Veterinary Alumni association online platforms such as vetkenya@googlegroups.com and on Kenya-Kabete 1909 Vet’s Group (kvetforum) show scientists want something done to improve the quality of work at the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (KEVEVEPI) and urgently so.
Commenting on news that the African Union Pan African Vaccines Center wants a probe into the extent to which the Institute previously outed contaminated and therefore unsafe animal medicines, Henry Maduma Kamagy (a Kenyan vet doctor) recently said the Uhuru Kenyatta government should take cue and take some remedial steps before the entire livestock population gets exposed to grave danger.
The ongoing online advocacy recently prompted the Kenyan Chairman of the Council of Governors (CoGs) to write a missive cautioning the public to be cautious while procuring animal vaccines from KEVEVEPI until the current mess is cleared. More alarming are the contents of a recent AU report (referenced QCR 849) that raised a red flag on unacceptably high levels of contamination making KEVEVEPI products not adequately safe.
Yet that is not all about the growing chaos facing KEVEVEPI. A recent report by the Kenyan blog (www.tuko.co.ke) indicated Kenyans were yet to forgive the KEVEVEPI management for the embarrassment their President Uhuru Kenyatta endured when he was stampeded into launching a vaccine that was actually not yet registered for satisfying required levels of purity and standards as he was initially made to believe.
The Kenyan public was furious such could happen to their esteemed President in circumstances involving KEVEVEPI into which a Kenyan Shs200m grant had just been sunk to improve operations.
The grant was meant to enable the Institute grow it’s standards in the production and manufacture of a range of animal vaccines including; Foot and Mouth, Contagious Bovine Pleuro-pneumonia (CBPP), Lumpy Skin Disease, Contagious Caprine Pleuro-pneumonia (CCPP), Peste de Petits Ruminants (PPR), Sheep and Goat Pox (S&GP) and Newcastle Disease (NCD).
The online publication further indicated that: “KEVEVAPI received a grant of KSh200 million vide A.I.E serial No A741283 dated 23.08.2016 and Ref No D002806-011205-V2/2014/15 from Treasury through State Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Development Vote.”
The publication added: “All the 430,000 doses of vaccine expired with the institution losing about Ksh92,450,000. In addition, the institution suffered losses worth Ksh78m due to contamination of vaccines. Disposal was not done as per the disposal Act 2015.”
In spite of all the unsatisfactory quality control tests, the drugs/vaccines continued to be released on to the market.
Specifically, this is how the online publication captured that: “KEVEVAPI has been releasing vaccines contaminated with Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) and Mycoplasma to the public. BVD is immunosuppressive with direct effects on respiratory and fertility. Once the animals have come down with it, Control of BVD is difficult due to horizontal and vertical transmission involved. The disease results in milk drop.”
There are also fears Kenya’s veterinary practitioners might shun the products from KEVEVAPI until their quality concerns are addressed. Farmers in Uganda say these same disputed drugs might have found their way to the Ugandan market and possibly caused massive animal mortality in the past few months. It’s only a comprehensive inquest by the Nakalema team that will array the fears farmers are continuing to have towards this Kenyan threat.
Meanwhile, the Afande Edith Nakalema-led State House anti-corruption unit has already secured authorization from the Interpol Bureau of Kenya to extend their investigations to Kenya regarding the Shs6bn that was paid out by the Agricultural Ministry for the purchase of 0.5m doses of foot and mouth disease vaccines for the supply to cattle farmers for a three months period.
MTK Uganda Ltd, which MAAIF contracted, maintains they ordered for the vaccines from KEVEVEPI, a claim their CEO Jane Wachira denies as untrue hence prompting Nakalema to wish to dig deeper to understand what exactly happened. MTK also says is working with the GoU and its international partners to investigate and get to the root of the problem.
Nakalema who is heading the investigation says reports show what was actually delivered to farmers was merely a colored liquid that couldn’t serve intended purpose resulting into mass deaths of livestock. Writing in his Saturday column, much followed old man John Nagenda cynically stated his old friend Francis Kitaka the proprietor of MTK was in big trouble given the emotional connection cattle keepers have towards their animals. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
