PROF. MBOGOH STEPHEN GICHOVI

Contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia (CBPP) is one of the endemic and life-threatening livestock diseases in the arid and semi-arid land areas (ASALs) of Kenya, which justify the case for the control of livestock diseases to avoid the spread of such diseases from the ASALs to the rest of the country, and a CBPP control quarantine line (CQL) that to help prevent the spread of CBPP from the ASALs of North-eastern Kenya to the rest of the country has been in existence since the colonial (pre-1963) times in Kenya. However, the livestock keepers in the ASALs view the CQL as an impediment to their main source of livelihoods because it entails livestock movement restrictions, thus constraining unfettered livestock marketing. Available literature shows that there is a dearth of information on the economics of livestock diseases control in Kenya in terms of its impacts on social welfare. Employing the CQL as a case study, this study shows that an application of analytic techniques that combine disease risk analysis and conventional cost-benefit modelling that incorporates some aspects that are specific to livestock diseases and their control strategies can generate indices of economic impacts of livestock diseases control on social welfare. The study finds that the livestock keepers and traders in Kenya do not consider CBPP a major problem to warrant livestock movement restrictions, yet the official records of the veterinary authorities indicate that CBPP is a major threat to the cattle industry in Kenya. Annually, the government spends substantial resources on the CQL operation and maintenance and also on CBPP surveillance and monitoring to contain the CBPP menace in Kenya. This study shows that such expenditures are economically and socially justifiable. Nevertheless, the study finds some operational inefficiencies in the enforcement of the CQL requirements. The authors, therefore, undertake an evaluation of alternative CBPP control strategies and conclude that it would be more cost effective to shift the CQL from its current location to the international borders of the arid districts, provided that this action is preceded by adequate CBPP control preparatory measures, as described in the paper.

Department of Pathology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Red blood cells and lysate products (erythrolysate) are observed consistently in lymph draining acute and chronic inflammatory reactions and from tissues subjected to trauma or surgical procedures. Using hemoglobin as a marker for erythrolysate, we have measured hemoglobin in lymph up to the 10(-6) M range in a number of pathophysiological states. Data demonstrate that erythrolysate alters the pumping characteristics of lymphatic vessels. To test the effects of erythrolysate on lymphatic pumping, bovine lymphatics were suspended in an organ bath preparation with the vessels cannulated at both inflow and outflow ends. By raising the heights of the Krebs reservoir and the outflow catheters appropriately, a transmural pressure that stimulated pumping activity could be applied to the vessels. With a fixed transmural pressure of 6 cm H2O applied to the ducts, sheep erythrolysate depressed pumping activity between 40% and 100%, with dilutions containing between 10(-8) and 10(-5) M hemoglobin. Although the active principle in the red blood cells has not been characterized, evidence from precipitation purification experiments suggests that hemoglobin is an important component. Once suppressed, pumping could be restored in many but not all vessels (often to control levels) by elevating the distending pressure above 6 cm H2O. The relation between transmural pressure and fluid pumping is expressed as a bell-shaped curve, with pumping increasing up to a peak pressure (usually 8 cm H2O) and declining at pressures above this level. By comparing pressure/flow curves, we were able to ascertain that hemoglobin shifted the lymphatic function curve to the right and, on average, reduced the maximum pumping capability of the vessels. We speculate that the presence of erythrolysate/hemoglobin in lymph may modulate the ability of lymphatic vessels to drain liquid and protein from the tissue spaces.

This article is based on a socio-economic impact study of the introduction and adoption of tissue-culture (tc) technology in banana production in Kenya. It attempts to demonstrate that a prudent introduction and promotion of a new biotechnological innovation in farming can make a positive contribution to the socio-economic status of resource poor farmers in a developing country, such as Kenya. Adoption of tc technology in banana production in Kenya is considered a good example of biotechnological applications in agriculture. Hence the article hopes to make a contribution to recent debates at international levels as to whether biotechnology can make a difference in uplifting the living standards of people in the third world (Qaim, 1999; Graff, et al 2002; Qaim, et al 2002) by showing that it actually does so, using experiences from Kenya. The study utilizes both primary and secondary data sources. The results show that tc-banana production is relatively more capital intensive than non-tc banana production (re: about 70% fixed costs for tc banana versus about 49% fixed costs for non-tc banana). However, tc-banana production is found to offer relatively much higher financial returns than non-tc banana production. The high profitability of tc-banana production relative to traditional (non-tc) banana production and other farm enterprises in the pilot tc-banana project area in Kenya demonstrates the importance of biotechnological applications in rural development and shows that biotechnology can make a difference in uplifting the living standards of people in the third world. Therefore, efforts to promote tc-banana production in Kenya are justifiable from both food security and economic criteria.