New drug standards to save African herds from deadly disease
A Maasai tribesman in Tanzania prepares to vaccinate his cattle.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is partnering with the International Federation of Animal Health (IFAH) to establish the first pharmaceutical standards for medicines used in treating a disease that is threatening African herds.
Animal African Trypanosomosis, more commonly known as Nagana, is transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as the tsetse fly. Nagana affects cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, horses and donkeys. The disease causes an estimated $4.5 billion dollars in economic losses each year.
FAO says the new standards will also help to combat substandard and counterfeit medicine sold on the black market.
Filed under Today's News.
