The project goal is to develop control recommendations for Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) of camels, a disease which has a serious impact on pastoralist livelihoods.
Conventional bacteriological methods have so far failed to identify the causative agent and currently applied treatment strategies are unsuccessful. HS vaccines - based on bovine isolates of P. multocida Carter serotypes B:2 and E:2 (the classical HS agent in cattle) - are used in camels by relief and development organizations in Sudan, Ethiopia, Northern Kenya and Somalia. However, the adequacy and protective effect of these vaccinations has never been assessed.
The project combines Particpatory Epidemiolgy and aetiological investigations focussing on the following topics: (1) Build up an epidemiological database on HS in camels; (2) Determine the carrier status of camels for Pasteurella species in North East Kenya; (3) Investigate outbreaks of HS in camels and to identify Pasteurella multocida and other potential pathogens using bacteriological and molecular tools.
All field and workshop activities, dissemination of results and overall project management will be under VSF-Suisse. Diagnostic work will be carried out in collaboration with VSF-Germany and Analabs Ltd., a private veterinary laboratory. Molecular investigations will be based at the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Veterinary Faculty of the Freie Universität Berlin.

Kooperationsprojekt