wfn.org | All Africa News Agency - Bulletin No. 38-02 (c)

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AANA Bulletin
Editor - Mitch Odero

Bulletin APTA
Acting Editor - Silvie Alemba

FEATURES  SECTION

Drug Residues In Animal Products, Says Research

Allergies, increased antibiotic drug resistance and outright contraction of 
a number of animal diseases are just some of the dangers Kenyans are 
exposed to daily by their eating lifestyles that is increasingly turning to 
proteineous foods, a study carried out by a number of researchers on drug 
residues in milk, meat of various types of animals and eggs has established.

By Henry Neondo

A
ccording to Kenya Livestock Technologists Association, KELITA, most animal 
products found within the Kenyan market have an unacceptable high levels of 
drug residues with some having very high residue levels well above the 
recommended levels both at the Food Agriculture Organisation FAO, World 
Health Organisation WHO and the International Organisation for the Animal 
Health OIE.

"The downside to this is that our livestock can't penetrate the 
international markets," said Dr  Rugutt, of the KARI's National 
Agricultural Research Centre, NARC, Muguga, just outside Nairobi. He added 
that meat, milk, eggs and broilers marketed in Kenya from Kenyan farmers 
have been found to contain residues of antibiotics used to treat the 
animals with the effect that consumers develop allergies and increasing 
antibiotic drug resistance.

A study carried out by a number of researchers at KARI on drug residues in 
milk, meat of various types of animals and eggs show that tetracycline, 
chloromphenicals and deworming agents to be the most common of the residues.

According to J.W. Wanyama of NARC KARI in Muguga, "this shows that farmers 
do not follow the withdrawal period as indicated in the packages of the 
drugs they use".

For example he said, while the instructions on the packages indicate that a 
dipped animal should not be sold before expiry of seven days, spot checks 
at various slaughter houses show that most animals show residues of the 
acaricides used for dipping in beef.

During a study he carried out around Kiambu, a district near the capital, 
shows that only 12 percent of small-scale farmers with weak resources were 
found to discard milk in total during the withdrawal period of deworming, 
but majority would sale it anyhow.  "The excuse", Wanyama said "is that 
farmers say that theirs is only a small amount that would not make much 
impact when mixed with milk from other farmers".

He also said that animal products are frequently contaminated with drug 
residues administered through the feed. Such feed additives may be used for 
disease control and the enhancement of livestock performance.  Residues may 
also arise through contamination of animal feeds with undeclared drugs. The 
occurrence of these drugs is mostly due to cross-contamination in feed mills.

For example, he said, medicated feed residues may be retained within 
equipment and then contaminate subsequent batches of feed. Under these 
conditions, levels of contamination may be low but sufficient to cause 
detectable residues in animal products.

The contaminants most frequently identified included chlortetracycline, 
sulphonamides, penicillin and ionophores. Others were antihelmintics used 
for deworming, acaricides and other used to control ticks, lice, fleas in 
animals and detergents used for cleaning. Sulphadimidine in contaminated 
feeds was
sufficient to cause volatile tissue residues if consumed by animals in the 
finishing stages.

Participants at the recent 2nd Scientific Conference of KELITA at KARI's 
National Research Laboratory, NARL, also blamed the pharmaceutical 
companies for not coming up with drugs that would have short withdrawal 
periods of at least 12 hours.

The KARI study showed that the maximum number of hours farmers would 
discard milk to be only 12 hours after which, they would sale their 
produce, yet the recommended period is 72 hours.

Few Poultry keepers were found to prolong slaughtering their birds when 
treated just before their birds were due for sale at the expiry of the 
eight weeks for broilers.

Poverty and long withdrawal periods were identified as reasons that led 
farmers to dispose off their animals and products before the date when the 
drugs is meant to have fully been removed from the body expired.

Pharmaceutical companies were called to take a more proactive role of 
educating farmers on the dangers of using milk and products of animals with 
traces of drugs.

But low market share of the global antimicrobial drugs in the world by 
Africa was sited as reasons likely the drug companies do not consider 
farming systems in Africa and factor it in their research and development.

Ruggut said that Africa's share in the world's antimicrobial market is only 
8 percent, 5 percent of which is controlled by South Africa with the rest 
of the continent sharing the 3 percent, adding, "a proactive participation 
by the pharmaceutical companies can not be expected".

Rugutt said that the danger is not only on the health side of it but is 
also economic. For example, since 1996, Kenyan meat has been denied entry 
into the EU market because of poor management of foot and mouth disease. He 
added that this would soon include drug residue levels that are by the day 
becoming acute in Kenyan market.

The recommended FAO levels for Oxytetracycline animal products are 100 
parts per billion, ppb, penicillin is 4 ppm and sulphadanimine is 100ppm. 
But this has been found to be far exceeded in Kenya.

The effects of drug residues have been noted to be hypersensitivity to sun, 
bone marrow depression, carcinogenis, allergies and drug resistance.

According to Oluga G. A. of the Central Veterinary Centre, Kabete,a centre 
also near Nairobi, tests with more sensitive HPLC tests and Charm Rosa 
tests showed that drug residues from most drugs in the Kenyan market lasts 
as long as 5 days and 4 days respectively.

Using the Charm Rosa test, which can last only eight minutes, drug level to 
any livestock products can be determined leading to rejection or acceptance 
at home level.

A study by D'Mello and Macdonald in 1998 shows that currently, regulations 
are most comprehensive in Europe and North America, while in developing 
countries statutory directives may not even exist.

A total of 50 countries, mostly in Africa, have no regulations for 
mycotoxin control. This situation may be changed by the new rules imposed 
on feeds imported into the EU, which came into force in August 1999.

Non-EU feed manufacturers are now required to have representatives based in 
the EU who can confirm declarations concerning certain quality and safety 
standards for imported animal feeds.

For heavy metals and aflatoxins, distinctions in prescribed limits are 
generally made for straight, complete and complementary feedstuffs. 
Additional distinctions may apply according to the destination of feeds for 
a particular class of animal.

African Women Church Leaders Censure Sex Trade

Reports in recent years that thousands of young African women, lured by 
promises of fortune and glamour, are emigrating to richer countries of the 
West is causing concern especially among women Church leaders. Women 
activists in East and Central Africa have denounced such "trafficking of 
women and children for sex work and all forms of discrimination against 
women and children".

By Hobbs Gama

A
ccording to reports many such women do not even know what awaits them in 
the new environment. They only anticipate a life full of fun and luxuries. 
The promises are lavish: better education opportunities and well-paying 
jobs. But do they exist?

The trafficking is on the upswing at a time when interest groups across the 
globe are promoting the empowerment of women and uplifting of their social 
status.

The baffling question is: How can exploited women such as the innocent 
girls being enticed into commercial sex trade achieve meaningful life?

Women activists in East and Central Africa have expressed their 
condemnation through the African Women in Development Network at their 
meeting this month in Malawi. They denounced the trafficking of women and 
children for sex work and all forms of discrimination against women and 
children.

The network of Christian women led by the Catholic Church which Derives 
memmbership from Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea 
and Sudan is a network body for the Association for Members of Episcopal 
Conferences of Eastern and Central Africa AMECEA.

The 25 participants from the member countries spoke strongly in their 
resolutions, charging that although people involved in the trafficking 
syndicates were few, the group had evidence the practice was rampat within 
and outside AMECEA especially in Uganda and Ethiopia where many women and 
children were being trafficked to Europe and Arab countries.

Many corpses of women were discovered after women were killed or committed 
suicide because of frustrations, they claimed in the resolutions.

"The situation is worsening by the day. We strongly condenm the practice 
and urge governments and civil society organisations to adhere to the 
contents of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of 
Dicsrimination Against Women and Children..."

"The situation is worsening by the day. We strongly condenm the practice 
and urge governments and civil society organisations to adhere to the 
contents of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of 
Dicsrimination Against Women and Children," said Oliva Kinabo, a Tanzanian 
who is coordinator of the women in development network.

Churches and governments were called in lead the campaign against HIV/AIDS 
and its dangers to which the trafficked women are exposed as they engage in 
unprotected sex that is said to earn them more money.

Despite efforts to empower women in development, the majority across the 
globe had inadequate knowlegde and skills for advancement in the areas of 
education, training, leadership, and decision-making, social economic 
standing and Christian formations, the network further observed.

The AMECEA women agreed to empower women and men spiritually, 
socio-economically and politically for sustainable development both within 
and outside the Church.

Many corpses of women were discovered after women were killed or committed 
suicide because of frustrations, they claimed in the resolutions.

"The Third Millennium poses big challenges against traditions and practices 
that dilute the dignity of persons, whether women or men. We are committed 
toight all forms of discrimination," charges the statement.

Stories about the increased activities in the trafficked women were first 
reported in West African nation of Nigeria where up to 10,000 women were 
trafficked to Europe, especially Italy.

Some of these were undertaken with the sanctions of relatives or even 
greedy parents whocolluded by members in the syndicates.

Many young women in the states of Edo Delta and Benin city were among the 
first to fall for the promised flowery life of Europe where sex had earned 
their colleagues raised financial status.

Researches there indicate that poverty in addition to the fall of the local 
currency, the Naira, contributed to the exodus of young women who had the 
blessings of their relatives.

Titi Abubakar, the wife of Nigeria's vice president is leading a campaign 
under the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Education WOTCLEF which is 
rehabilitating women traumatised in the trade and encouraging young girls 
to pursues education home or learn income generation skills.

"Our (mission) is to restore hope and dignity among abused women and 
children. Our principal focus is to stem the tide of trafficking in women 
particularly for the purpose of prostitution," says Abubakar.

Presently the government of Nigeria is putting in place tougher legislation 
to impose stiffer punishment for brothel owners and women traffickers. 
Culprits would suffer jail term for up to 10 years.

Trafficking in women is also posing a big threat to the future of women and 
girls in Southern Africa. Mozambique and Malawi are leading in the register 
of the number of trafficked women, while Zimbabwe and South Africa recorded 
the highest number of brothels.

In this region poverty too is being singled as the driving force, where 
orphaned young girls are forced into sex trade to fend for themselves by 
the relatives of their deceased parents.

However, women activists are not sitting idle. They are developing a 
network of non-governmental-organisations (NGOs) to lobby other groups in 
the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) that covers fourteen 
countries to rescue the girl child.

They have undertaken to collaborate with the police and immigration 
authorities tracing the syndicates and exchanging information on the ways 
to curb the trend. Already in Malawi, eight NGOs have been identified led 
by Eye of the Child as members in the network.

Bernadetta van Vuuren coordinator of the regional network based in South 
Africa bemoans the escalating abuse of women and children saying the 
members will do everything to bring perpetrators to book using mobilised 
resources, some from donors.

"Cases of smuggled women and girls are now rampant. This is a serious 
violation of women's rights pushing them into the evil of prostitution. We 
are forming focal points around the region to rescue the girl child," says 
van Vuren.