The Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Allan Azegele, has announced plans to upgrade the Turkana County Veterinary Laboratory into a Rabies Centre of Excellence to strengthen the surveillance, diagnosis and eradication of rabies and hydatidosis across the region.
Dr Azegele made the announcement after touring Turkana County to familiarise himself with ongoing national government programmes and assess projects implemented by the Kenya Women Veterinary Association (KWVA) over the past five years.
“My visit to Turkana is critical to assess ongoing projects by national government and KWVA. I am also keen to understand the county’s level of El-Nino preparedness and align it with national government programming on El-Nino interventions,” said Dr Azengele.
On the Turkana Veterinary Investigations Laboratory, Dr Azegele said the government intends to upgrade the facility to a Level II Biosafety and Diagnostic Facility capable of serving counties across the region as well as neighboring Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia, giving it regional and international significance.
After reviewing the laboratory network established in Turkana, which is now partly operational, the facility would be accredited to conduct specific tests for common livestock diseases, including Peste desk Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), rabies and hydatidosis.
The facility will subsequently be aligned with the national laboratory network to enhance coordination and management of veterinary diagnostic services.
Dr Azegele said the upgrade would help ensure government surveillance programmes are better coordinated while allowing the laboratory’s diagnostic capacity to be fully utilized across the region.
He spoke after inspecting an ongoing three-day campaign aimed at eradicating rabies and hydatidosis in Turkana County.
Turkana County Chief Officer for Livestock Development Peter Ikaru thanked the Director for visiting the county to engage officials on livestock development matters.
“We are happy you found time to visit Turkana. We assure you the county will work closely with the national government on the ongoing and future programmes,” said Ikaru.
Ikaru added that the county is aware of plans by the national government to revive the Turkana Tannery and Lomidat Abattoir as part of efforts to transform livestock activities into a commercial enterprise.
After the tour, Dr Azegele and his team planted trees within the laboratory compound as part of efforts to promote environmental conservation.
The Director later toured various sections of the facility, including bacteriology, cold chain and sterilization, parasitology, serology, haematology and post-mortem units.
