Investigation of major cattle production constraints in Kembata Tambaro zone of Southern Ethiopia using participatory epidemiology methods

Approaches for disease prioritization and decision-making in animal health, 2000-2021: a structured scoping review

This scoping review identifies and describes the methods used to prioritize diseases for resource allocation across disease control, surveillance, and research and the methods used generally in decision-making on animal health policy. Three electronic databases (Medline/PubMed, Embase, and CAB Abstracts) were searched for articles from 2000 to 2021. Searches identified 6, 395 articles after de-duplication, with an additional 64 articles added manually. A total of 6, 460 articles were imported to online document review management software (sysrev.com) for screening. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 532 articles passed the first screening, and after a second round of screening, 336 articles were recommended for full review. A total of 40 articles were removed after data extraction. Another 11 articles were added, having been obtained from cross-citations of already identified articles, providing a total of 307 articles to be considered in the scoping review. The results show that the main methods used for disease prioritization were based on economic analysis, multi-criteria evaluation, risk assessment, simple ranking, spatial risk mapping, and simulation modeling. Disease prioritization was performed to aid in decision-making related to various categories: (1) disease control, prevention, or eradication strategies, (2) general organizational strategy, (3) identification of high-risk areas or populations, (4) assessment of risk of disease introduction or occurrence, (5) disease surveillance, and (6) research priority setting. Of the articles included in data extraction, 50.5% had a national focus, 12.3% were local, 11.9% were regional, 6.5% were sub-national, and 3.9% were global. In 15.2% of the articles, the geographic focus was not specified. The scoping review revealed the lack of comprehensive, integrated, and mutually compatible approaches to disease prioritization and decision support tools for animal health. We recommend that future studies should focus on creating comprehensive and harmonized frameworks describing methods for disease prioritization and decision-making tools in animal health.

Knowledge and preventive practices of livestock farmers on infectious causes of reproductive disorders in dairy cows in the Kembata Tambaro zone, southern Ethiopia

Several studies in Ethiopia have shown a high prevalence of reproductive disorders (RDs) in dairy cows. However, there is a lack of information about the levels of knowledge among farming community about the causes associated with RDs. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study design was administered to 278 livestock farmers (LFs) in the Kembata Tambaro zone to evaluate knowledge and preventive practices on infectious causes of RDs in dairy cows. The results show that almost all farmers had heard about RDs, but more than half did not realize that reproductive system infections (RSIs) could cause RDs in dairy cows. A significant number of participants were not aware of the spread of RSIs between animals through sharing of breeding bulls, ingestion of urine contaminated feed, unhygienic management, sharing of equipment between milking cows, and interactions with contagious animals. The majority of LFs reported that they frequently consulted with traditional healers regarding the treatment of RDs, but very few looked for veterinary assistance. The results of multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that level of education and living areas were factors significantly and positively associated with knowledge about RSIs. Likewise, occupation, level of education and being knowledgeable about RSIs were significantly associated with good preventive practices. Veterinarians and responsible authorities should take these results into consideration to educate farmers on preventing losses attributed to RSIs.

Animal health perceptions and challenges among smallholder farmers around Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India: A study using participatory epidemiological techniques

Improvements to smallholder farming are essential to improvements in rural prosperity. Small farmers in the Kaziranga region of Assam operate mixed farming enterprises in a resource limited environment, which is subject to seasonal flooding. Participatory techniques, were used to elucidate the animal health challenges experienced in this landscape in order to inform and guide future animal health education and interventions. The flooding is essential for agricultural activities, but is a source of major losses and disruption. Farmers experience significant losses to their crops due to raiding by wild species such as elephants; predation of livestock by wild carnivores is also of concern. Access to veterinary services and medicines is limited by both financial and geographic constraints. Interviewees discussed nutritional and management issues such as poor availability of fodder and grazing land, while meeting attendees preferred to concentrate discussions on animal health issues. Livestock keepers were adept and consistent at describing disease syndromes. The key challenges identified by farmers were: foot-and-mouth disease; Newcastle disease; haemorrhagic septicaemia; chronic fasciolosis; diarrhoea; bloating diseases; goat pox; and sarcoptic mange. Improvements in the efficiency of farming in this region is a prerequisite for the local achievement of United Nations Sustainable development goals. There exist clear opportunities to increase productivity and prosperity among farmers in this region through a combination of vaccination programmes and planned animal management schemes, driven by a programme of participatory farmer education.

A Participatory Investigation of Bovine Health and Production Issues in Pakistan

Systems to record the frequency of animal health events in Pakistan are limited. A participatory approach was used to address gaps in farmers' knowledge and understanding of bovine health and production issues in five agroecological zones (AEZs) of Pakistan. Participatory tools, including simple ranking, pairwise ranking, constraint impact scoring, and constraint profiling were used in group discussions with farmers and animal health professionals (AHPs) in six districts of two provinces, Punjab and Sindh. The results of the ranking activities showed that foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), clinical mastitis, ticks, hemorrhagic septicemia, reproductive disorders, blackleg, and endoparasites were the most important bovine health and production constraints for small-scale dairy farmers. Constraint impact scoring showed that the participants perceived that: (1) milk production was severely affected by FMD and mastitis; (2) blackleg and parasitism led to poor growth rates and reduced meat production; (3) reproductive disorders and mastitis caused major economic losses (due to the high cost of treatment); and (4) blackleg and hemorrhagic septicemia were the leading causes of mortality in cattle and buffaloes. Although there was strong agreement in responses and constraint impact scores between farmers and AHPs, farmers were more concerned about health issues that cause high mortalities, whereas AHPs emphasized the importance of disorders with a high economic impact. Despite socioeconomic differences among AEZs, farmers' knowledge about bovine health and production constraints was similar. The findings from this study revealed that farmers had limited understanding of the risk factors and routes of transmission of various infectious diseases of bovines, which emphasizes the need to develop and implement tailored extension programs in Pakistan to control contagious diseases of animals and to improve the profitability of small-scale dairy farmers.

A participatory epidemiological study of major cattle diseases amongst Maasai pastoralists living in wildlife-livestock interfaces in Maasai Mara, Kenya

Livestock-wildlife interactions promote the transmission of a wide range of infectious diseases that constraint livestock production. We used a participatory appraisal approach to find out and rank infectious diseases of concern to pastoralists in a zone of intense wildlife-livestock interaction and another zone with limited interactions. Four villages were selected purposively in areas with intensive cattle-wildlife interactions (zone 1), and another two in areas with low to moderate cattle-wildlife interactions (zone 2). Data were collected in focus group discussions (FGDs) using participatory epidemiological methods (PE); each group had 8-13 participants. Results of impact matrix scoring from all sites indicated that malignant catarrhal fever (MCF), anthrax, foot and mouth disease (FMD), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), east coast fever (ECF) and African animal trypanosomiasis (ATT), in decreasing order, had the highest impact on livestock production. A Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference in FMD annual prevalence between cattle age groups (p < 0.001) and was the highest in animals > 4 years (median score of 32.5, range, 10-50). FMD had the highest impact on milk production, but based on veterinary costs (treatment costs), it was ranked second to CBPP. The study provides information on disease priorities that occur in the target zones in Mara ecosystem and which the local pastoralists must consider when accessing key ecosystem services such as water and pasture.

Qualitative Research to Design Sustainable Community-Based Surveillance for Rabies in Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea

Given the proximity and recent spread of rabies in Indonesia, effective rabies surveillance in dogs is a priority in Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). Reporting of potential cases requires community engagement; therefore, the value and acceptability of such a system is critical to ensure sustainable surveillance. We used qualitative research methods to identify factors that influence the acceptability and value of community-based rabies surveillance. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with informants in 16 communities in East Arnhem, the Northern Peninsula Area, the Torres Strait in Australia, and in Western Province, PNG. Thematic analysis identified common themes including the importance of verbal communication, particularly via radio, community meetings, and direct conversation. We also found that dogs have high value to community members through connection to culture, economic (especially hunting), and companionship. The greatest barrier to the reporting of sick dogs was insufficient veterinary services and the subsequent lack of treatment response. In some regions, acceptance that sick dogs are a normal daily occurrence and lack of trust of authorities were also barriers to reporting. The findings from this study will be used to design sustainable rabies surveillance in Northern Australia and PNG by utilizing traditional communication channels and building on existing and valued animal-management services. The methods and findings of this study complement previous quantitative research, so as to target surveillance to high-risk areas within these regions.

Epidemiology and financial loss estimation of blackleg on smallholder cattle herders in Kembata Tambaro zone, Southern Ethiopia

Background

Blackleg is one of the major bacterial infections causing tremendous economic losses to cattle herders in many parts of Ethiopia. Despite the huge burden, no comprehensive studies have quantified the impact or its distribution throughout the country. This study was aimed to estimate the epidemiological aspect of blackleg, financial costs and benefits of its control through annual vaccination on small holder cattle herders in Southern Ethiopia.

Methods

Annual financial cost due to blackleg was calculated as the sum of production losses due to mortality, morbidity, treatment and vaccination costs at herd level. Production loss due to the disease was estimated and compared between local zebu and crossbred cattle. Partial budget analysis was used to estimate financial benefit of control intervention through annual vaccination.

Results

An overall cumulative incidence and mortality rate of blackleg in local zebu cattle population was 17.9 % (95 % CI 16.5–19.4) and 3.6 % (95 % CI 2.9–4.4 %) respectively. Cumulative incidence and mortality rate attributed to blackleg in crossbreds cattle was 19 % (95 % CI 16.9–21.6) and 3.9 % (95 % CI 2.9–5.3 %) respectively. There was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in both variables between the two breeds. Financial costs in blackleg infected herds was estimated to be USD 9.8 (95 % CI 6.7–14.4) per head for local zebu and USD 16 (95 % CI 10–24.4) per head for crossbred cattle. The marginal rate of return that could be obtained from the control intervention was estimated to be 9 (900 %) and the net benefit per head was USD 0.4 for local zebu and USD 0.8 for crossbred cattle. Vaccination, therefore, reduces financial losses due to blackleg by 3.4 and 6.9 % per head in local zebu and crossbred cattle herds respectively.

Conclusions

The present study revealed considerable financial losses due to blackleg occurrence. The information obtained would be helpful to improve the farmers’ livelihood and may open new avenues of research for the eradication and control of the disease at local and national level.