The Federal Government has asked the Technical Working Group on Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia (CBPP) to intensify nationwide vaccination efforts aimed at achieving total eradication of the disease across Nigeria.

CBPP is a bacterial disease of cattle that causes severe pneumonia, is often fatal, and leads to significant livestock production losses in affected regions globally. Its outbreaks result in considerable economic losses, threaten food security, safe trade, and present major challenges to cattle production in endemic countries across Africa.

The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, made the call during the inauguration of the Technical Working Group on CBPP in Abuja.

He decried that CBPP remained endemic in Nigeria and continued to challenge the country’s aspirations for a productive, resilient and globally competitive livestock sector. Maiha said with an estimated population of more than 50 million herds of cattle, Nigeria held one of the largest herds of cattle on the African continent.

He said: “This places a significant responsibility on us to ensure that animal health risks are effectively managed. “The epidemiological situation in 2025 clearly underscores the urgency of this task. At least some states have reported outbreaks of CBPP, with the disease now cutting across all geopolitical zones.”