Fake vaccines complicate FMD fight – govt

The Agriculture Ministry has appealed to farmers to stop buying Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines that are not imported by the government, saying investigations are ongoing to arrest all illegal dealers.

 The ministry warned that the vice would prolong the fight against the disease which has a huge economic impact because the quality and effectiveness of the products are not guaranteed.

This appeal comes a day after the National Drug Authority (NDA), said it found “fake and unauthorised” FMD vaccines on the market. The “fake” vaccines, NDA said, include “Purified FMD FOTIVAX Foot and Mouth Disease Inactivated Vaccine” and “National Veterinary Institute Foot and Mouth Disease Broad Spectrum Vaccine”.

 “These products have not undergone NDA’s approval processes and therefore, we can’t guarantee their safety, quality and efficacy,” NDA said in a statement.

“We remind the public that the FMD vaccines are solely procured and imported by the government through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and distributed by the district local governments through the district veterinary offices,” they added.

 Speaking to the Daily Monitor yesterday, Maj Gen (Rtd) David Kasura Kyomukama, the Permanent Secretary (PS) of MAAIF, asked farmers to cooperate with the government to eradicate FMD. 

 “I know the argument is that ‘the government has not bought them [FMD vaccines] and so on, but the alternative is to waste your money by buying fake drugs. So, I would advise them to wait until the government gets the vaccines,” he said.

 According to the PS, some people have been bringing FMD vaccines, whose labels show that they are from Ethiopia.

“We don’t import FMD drugs from Ethiopia. FMD is multi-valent, you may even get FMD vaccine for one serotype and vaccinate your cows –it might not even be fake but you will be vaccinating against the wrong serotype,” he warned.

Some sources indicated that some farmers have been buying the FMD vaccines at around Shs2,000 to Shs4,000 per dose, some brought into Uganda from Kenya. But NDA emphasised that any FMD vaccine which doesn’t come through the government is fake and safety cannot be guaranteed.

Mr Abiaz Rwamwiri, the NDA spokesperson, told this newspaper the investigations and follow-up are still ongoing.

“We got a tip-off and through mystery buying, [we] secured several samples. These were sampled in Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi and Sembabule,” he said. He did not reveal the name of the importers.

He warned that it is only the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) that is allowed to import FMD vaccines into the country. “Anything else is smuggled and that is how we get those fakes,” Mr Rwamwiri explained.

This comes three days after MAAIF announced that based on the Cabinet resolution on Monday, farmers will have to pay for vaccines that the government will procure for scaling up ring vaccination in the districts hit by FMD and are under quarantine, in addition to neighbouring districts at high risk.

 According to Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze, the Cabinet also approved the immediate sourcing of 10 million doses of FMD vaccines. He also told Parliament last week that each dose would cost $2 (Shs7,600).

Maj Gen Kasura said they are expediting processes to ensure the vaccines are in the country as soon as possible.  “The vaccine they import is multi-valent and they produce based on the orders you have placed. We have placed in the orders,” he said.

However, Mr Tumwebaze told Parliament last week that whereas the policy requires the government to avail vaccines to farmers as a public good, the budget for procuring vaccines has been insufficient.

Economic cost

There are regional studies, which give insights into the economic impact but we couldn’t find a specific national study to that effect. But Maj Gen (Rtd) Kasura estimated the national average of the economic loss at more than Shs700 billion. The losses often result from failure to sell milk, meat and death of animals.