Abstract
Countries in which foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic may face bans on the export of FMD-susceptible livestock and products because of the associated risk for transmission of FMD virus. Risk assessment is an essential tool for demonstrating the fitness of one’s goods for the international marketplace and for improving animal health. However, it is difficult to obtain the necessary data for such risk assessments in many countries where FMD is present. This study bridged the gaps of traditional participatory and expert elicitation approaches by partnering with veterinarians from the National Veterinary Services of Kenya (n = 13) and Uganda (n = 10) enrolled in an extended capacity-building program to systematically collect rich, local knowledge in a format appropriate for formal quantitative analysis. Participants mapped risk pathways and quantified variables that determine the risk of infection among cattle at slaughter originating from each of four beef production systems in each country. Findings highlighted that risk processes differ between management systems, that disease and sale are not always independent events, and that events on the risk pathway are influenced by the actions and motivations of value chain actors. The results provide necessary information for evaluating the risk of FMD among cattle pre-harvest in Kenya and Uganda and provide a framework for similar evaluation in other endemic settings.
Highlights
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of livestock with massive global impact [1,2]
The subject-matter experts for this study were defined as veterinary professionals living and working in their respective countries (Kenya, Uganda) with at least two years of experience related to livestock production, and training in risk assessment for animal health and international trade
Additional Event Added to the Proposed Risk Pathways
Summary
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of livestock with massive global impact [1,2]. According to the principle of equivalence, countries are to recognize the actions taken by exporting partners according to the reduction in risk achieved rather than requiring a specific set of protocols (though actual practice is often murkier [10]). For this reason, risk assessments are an essential tool for demonstrating the fitness of one’s goods for the international marketplace as well as for understanding and improving animal and public health domestically [10,11]
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