Dr. Moses Arokoya, president of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), says that 65% of infections in Nigeria are caused by cattle.
He said this at the NVMA’s 61st Annual National Congress and Annual General Meeting (AGM), which took place in Jalingo yesterday.
According to Daily Trust, Dr. Arokoya said that zoonotic diseases were becoming more common in Nigeria. He also said that zoonotic diseases killed 2.7 million people throughout the world every year.
He noted that choosing Taraba for the conference was smart since a Disease Free Zone (DFZ) was going to be set up in the Mambilla Plateau in the Sardauna Local Government Area of the state.
He also said that getting rid of diseases on the Mambilla Plateau would lead to the production of big amounts of fresh meat.
Dr. Arokoya remarked that the country needs more DFZs to make livestock farming an economic boost.
The president also spoke out against the status of Nigeria’s slaughterhouses, saying that bad ones make microbes more resistant because most Nigerians take medications intended to treat cattle before they are killed.
He said that the problem may be solved by building new slaughterhouses in all 774 local government districts.
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