What to do with chronically sick animals? Pastoralists' management strategies in the far north region of Cameroon.

Jessica M Healy Profitós,Rebecca B Garabed,Mark Moritz

doi:10.1186/2041-7136-3-8

Abstract

While the goal of African pastoralists is health and longevity of herd and household, some of their management strategies appear to counter this long-term goal. Pastoralists in the far north region of Cameroon, for example, do not always remove chronically sick animals from their herds, even though chronic diseases, such as brucellosis, are contagious and have the potential to cause fertility problems in the herd. We used ethnographic and epidemiologic methods to understand why pastoralists do not remove chronically sick animals and whether their management strategies have an impact on herd fertility. We used semi-structured interviews to collect data on pastoralists’ understandings of disease and its impacts on fertility as well as data on herd management. We compared these data with disease prevalence and herd fertility data to measure the effect of management strategies on herd fertility. We found that the percentage of chronically sick animals in a herd negatively correlated with herd fertility, but this was not true for the prevalence of brucellosis. Thus, preliminary examination of disease costs and benefits suggests that herders’ decisions to keep sick animals in their herds may lower herd fertility, but this is not due to brucellosis alone. The results of this study underline the complexity of infectious disease ecology in pastoral systems and the need for holistic and comprehensive studies of the ecology of infectious diseases in pastoral systems.

Highlights

The long-term goal of African pastoralists is the health and longevity of their herds (Krätli 2008; Mace 1993; Stenning 1958)
Seemingly in direct opposition to this goal, we have found that pastoralists in the far north region of Cameroon do not always remove chronically sick animals from their herds even though these animals may have infectious diseases, like brucellosis, which can cause fertility problems in the herd and illness in humans and animals (John et al 2010; Scolamacchia et al 2010)
To answer our two main questions - why do pastoralists keep chronically sick animals in their herd, and does it affect herd fertility - we will first discuss whether pastoralists recognize the infectiousness of chronic diseases and whether they make the link between these diseases and fertility problems

Summary

Introduction

The long-term goal of African pastoralists is the health and longevity of their herds (Krätli 2008; Mace 1993; Stenning 1958). Pastoralists' expert knowledge of animal husbandry and of their physical environment allows them to exploit this unpredictability to their advantage (Behnke and Scoones 1993; Krätli and Schareika 2010; Schareika 2003). In his description of the WoDaaBe of Niger, Krätli details how their breeding system is devoted to ensuring genetic diversity, and to ensuring that cattle behaviour necessary for survival, such as selective feeding on the most nutrient-rich grasses, is passed down from generation to generation (Krätli 2008). Seemingly in direct opposition to this goal, we have found that pastoralists in the far north region of Cameroon do not always remove chronically sick animals from their herds even though these animals may have infectious diseases, like brucellosis, which can cause fertility problems in the herd and illness in humans and animals (John et al 2010; Scolamacchia et al 2010)

Methods

Results

Conclusion