Pastoralists in northern Kenya have said their livelihoods have been seriously affected by a viral disease that has killed 2.7 million goats and sheep in the past two years.

The disease, known as Pestes des Petits Ruminats (PPR), had spread fast due a shortage of vaccines, Kenya's Livestock Development Minister Mohamed Kuti said. Lack of adequate skilled personnel and funding had aggravated matters.

"The ministry, with the support of the [UN] Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], has managed to obtain 2.6 million vaccines, yet we require 15 million to vaccinate the entire sheep and goat population in the affected areas," Kuti said.

"We require technical personnel to be involved in the exercise that is expected to cover the entire northern Kanya region ... it is expansive and expensive," he told IRIN.

"We know that more goats are dying but the ministry is making all efforts to contain the situation," he added. "We have already approached some donors and I am optimistic they will help. [I am] also hoping to get additional funding from the national disaster programme."

The situation has been compounded by a sharp drop in the price of livestock products, cancelled local and international orders and high veterinary costs.

"So far, the number of sheep and goats that have died since the viral disease was detected in Turkana [district] in June 2006 stands at 2.7 million," Kuti told IRIN.

A quarantine has been imposed in affected areas and markets closed. However, enforcing the ban on the movement of animals was challenging as pastoralists were constantly on the move due to the prevailing drought.

However, the Kenya Livestock Market Council (KLMC) said the government had taken too long to deal with the disease, saying many families had become desperate after losing all their animals.

"Our local traders and producers from the affected areas have been locked out of the market in Kenya and abroad; market prices have also fallen drastically as a result," KLMC chief executive officer, Abass Sheikh Mohamed, said.

Mohamed said the disease had thwarted plans by traders from Northeastern and parts of Rift Valley provinces to export animals to Europe and the Arab world.

"We had an order for more than a half a million goats and sheep to be exported to the Arab world before the end of the year but we cannot make it because of the poor health standards," he said.

He urged the government to declare the disease a crisis and seek international aid.

Mohamed Abdille, who runs a butchery at Modogashe, a remote trading centre along the Isiolo-Garissa border, said he recently bought 15 goats for his business but they died within two days.

"I almost cried when I saw the goats dying in less than two days. The only veterinary officer at the division was away and when he came back he told me that the goats died as a result of the disease," Abdille, a retired teacher, said.

"At the moment I have more than 80 goats but we are spending a lot of money to buy veterinary drugs," he added.

Another farmer, Salan Fatulle, who has lost more than 45 goats in the same area, said his animals had survived severe drought in 2007 and had helped provide milk for his family of three children.

"Now I am only left with three goats. The government must help me with relief food and to buy school uniforms for my two children in school," Fatulle said.

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]