Abstract
A reliable livestock disease surveillance system should detect changes in health events whenever they occur. Such a system ought to be evaluated regularly to ensure it provides valuable information in an efficient manner. Thus, a cross-sectional study was carried out in 2017 to assess eight attributes of the livestock disease surveillance systems in Pallisa and Kumi districts, Uganda. A total of 772 livestock farmers were interviewed to evaluate the surveillance system at their level, using a structured questionnaire. Guided interviews were also carried out with 13 key informants who included all veterinary staff at the districts and sub-county administrative units, as well as two officials at the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).The stakeholders interviewed at the three different levels of the livestock diseases surveillance system perceived the system as useful, with ability to detect epidemics and initiate their control if they occurred. The surveillance system was perceived to be considerably representative, sensitive and acceptable, with the ability to generate data of good quality. However, key emerging issues that need improvement were noted. These included poor laboratory diagnostic services, inability to work within the means of available resources, slow data transmission and feedback, and nonspecific surveillance forms leading to poor quality of data collected.Poor communication along the surveillance system chain and inadequate staffing were noted as the major challenges faced by the surveillance system in the two districts.Although perceived to be functional, the livestock surveillance requires improvements for efficient disease detection and control. For better performance, the surveillance system could be strengthened by establishing and equipping laboratories for efficient confirmatory diagnosis of diseases; adjusting to work within the means of available resources; improving the reporting process through quick data transmission and quick feedback and designing precise surveillance form to improve quality of data collected.
Highlights
Livestock disease surveillance has been identified as playing an essential role in setting a platform for intervention strategies aimed at lowering incidence or completely eradicating infections (FAO 2011)
Socio-demographic characteristics of farmer respondents A total of 772 respondents were interviewed from the two districts; 74% of these were above 30 years of age
The livestock disease surveillance system attributes at the farmer level Usefulness of farmer disease reporting The evaluation indicated that the farmers were involved in the reporting of key disease outbreaks
Summary
Livestock disease surveillance has been identified as playing an essential role in setting a platform for intervention strategies aimed at lowering incidence or completely eradicating infections (FAO 2011). Various criteria have been used to describe livestock disease surveillance systems; they include the scope of surveillance, type, methods of data collection, dependence on control, epidemiological situation and population under surveillance activities (Calba et al 2015) Networks such as World Organization for Animal Health-World Animal Health Information Database (OIE-WAHID), Food and Agriculture OrganizationEmergency Prevention for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (FAO-EMPRES-I), Animal Resources Information System-African Union-Interafrican Bureau of Animal Resources (ARIS-AUIBAR) and Global Early Warning and Response System (GLEWS) globally address the various animal surveillance needs. These networks provide for the exchange of information from local surveillance networks between partner countries (Vallat 2002). An example is the Epidemiology and Informatics Subcommittee (EIS) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which has been essential in promoting measures that limit transboundary animal diseases’ spread, thereby enhancing safe trade in livestock and livestock products (African UnionInterafrican Bureau for Animal R 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
