Comparative ethnoveterinary and serological evaluation of the Karimojong Community Animal Health Worker Program in Uganda.

Abstract

The Karimojong CAHW program, in which members of the pastoral Karimojong community were trained as basic veterinary care providers, was evaluated using ethnoveterinary techniques. A serological study of rinderpest antibody titers was also completed to compare serological results with ethnoveterinary results in the case of one disease, rinderpest. An outbreak of rinderpest-like disease that occurred during the field phase of the study was also investigated. The results show that rinderpest does exist in Karamoja in an apparently endemic form. Given the significant value placed by Karimojong herders on vaccinated animals, it can be concluded that they would adequately vaccinate their herds if they could trust the vaccine and the vaccinator. Discrepancies between ethnoveterinary and serological results show that ethnoveterinary techniques do not provide numerically accurate data concerning protection from disease, but that they can, nonetheless, provide basic, cost effective indications of disease patterns.