Animal Health Interventions Research Articles

A qualitative study on the effects of intra-household decision-making patterns on utilization of preventive and curative veterinary practices in communities affected by Rift Valley fever in Kenya and Uganda

Decisions about how to prevent and treat livestock disease are often negotiated between household members. Animal health interventions target livestock-rearing households but information about the decision-making of men and women and how it influences utilization of animal health best practices including veterinary services is limited. This qualitative study used focus group discussions to assess the effects of gender dynamics on intra-household decision-making regarding utilization of preventive and curative veterinary services in communities affected by Rift Valley fever in Kenya and Uganda. Three household headship structures were considered: male headed, de facto female headed, and de jure female headed. Although their decision-making capacities differed depending on household headship, men were the primary decision-makers on vaccine use while women had some leeway in making decisions on livestock treatment depending on the local context. Understanding gender roles within livestock health management can be used to inform policies and improve animal health interventions.

Advancing Health Security and Disease Eradication Through Peace and Health: A Mali Case Study.

Conflict and violence constitute threats to public health. As levels of conflict increase within and between countries, it is important to explore how conflict resolution initiatives can be adapted to meet the health needs of communities, and how addressing the health needs of communities can assist in conflict resolution and contribute to health security. In conflict-affected central Mali, a Peace through Health Initiative, piloted between 2018 and 2022, used conflict resolution trainings, facilitated community meetings, and human and animal health interventions to negotiate "periods of tranquility" to achieve public health goals. Project activities resulted in improved health, improved livelihoods, reduced violence, improved trust among stakeholders, and greater inclusion of community members in peace and health decisionmaking. The Peace-Health Initiative generated several lessons learned related to 3 phases of peace-health programming: preintervention, program development, and implementation. These lessons can be applied to support expanded Peace through Health Initiatives within Mali, may be adaptable to other conflict-afflicted contexts, and should be considered in relation to the implementation of global health security.

The Socioeconomic Impact of Diseases of Working Equids in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Critical Review.

Working equids provide a crucial contribution to the livelihoods and food security of communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nevertheless, they are a neglected category within animal health policies and interventions of governmental and non-governmental institutions. This critical review aims to assess the socioeconomic impact of diseases of working equids in LMICs. By highlighting the implications of diseases on working equid welfare, human wellbeing and livelihoods, this review seeks to sensitise policymakers within governments and international organisations to develop policies and interventions aimed at protecting the health of working equids and, consequently, the health and livelihoods of their dependent communities. Twenty relevant publications were identified through the search of five databases (CAB Abstracts, Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSIS, EMBASE and Scopus), backward citation searching and screening of indexes of proceedings and Special Issues retrieved from the database search. The review findings show that diseases of working equids have detrimental socioeconomic effects. However, this subject is under-researched and restricted to few diseases and geographical settings. Considering the complexity of the issue, this review demonstrates that the 'One Health' approach represents an opportunity to clarify the link between equid health, human wellbeing and livelihoods, facilitating the translation of research into policy.

The socioeconomic impact of health problems of working equids in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review on the female-gender perspectives

Abstract Working equids provide a crucial contribution to reduce the work burden on women and they protect the livelihoods and food security of female-headed households in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nevertheless, they remain a neglected category within animal health policies and interventions, including those aimed at supporting women, that focus mostly on food production animals. This scoping review aims to assess the existing knowledge on the socioeconomic impact of health problems of working equids in LMICs under a female-gender perspective and to identify research gaps on the subject. The review intends to provide orientation for future research that is required to sensitise policymakers within governments and international organisations in LMICs on the importance of developing programmes for protecting working equids’ health and to incorporate such programmes within interventions supporting women’s empowerment. Six relevant publications were identified through the search of five databases (CAB Abstracts, Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSIS, EMBASE and Scopus), backward citation searching and screening of indexes of proceedings and special issues retrieved from the database search. No limits were applied to the search strategy. Publications set in LMICs were considered eligible for the review if they included considerations regarding the female-gender perspective on the socioeconomic impact of infectious and non-infectious diseases of working equids or if female participants were included within the study population. The review findings show that this subject is dramatically under-researched and only one article broadly studied the socioeconomic effects of health problems of working equids on women, while most of the publications included an exiguous number of female participants and made limited considerations on the matter. Considering the complexity of the subject, future research would benefit from the application of the One Health approach that represents an opportunity to clarify the link between equid health, women’s wellbeing and livelihoods, facilitating the translation of research into policy. Further research should focus on the socioeconomic impact of diseases with high morbidity and mortality, especially zoonoses. A participatory approach is recommended to ensure that the community viewpoint is acquired in detail, including indigenous women’s perspectives. The presence of female researchers can ensure that women’s voices are captured thoroughly. One Health impact statement By highlighting the implications of working equid diseases on women’s health and wellbeing, animal welfare and environmental health, this study demonstrates that future research on the subject would benefit from the application of a One Health approach. The engagement of a transdisciplinary team of veterinarians, epidemiologists, social scientists and public health specialists besides the incorporation of indigenous knowledge could effectively capture the multiplicity of consequences of the impaired health of working equids on women. This may facilitate the translation of research into policy, resulting potentially in the inclusion of women among beneficiaries of programmes targeting working equids, in an improved consideration of working equids within animal health interventions and within broader programmes targeting women, with long-term benefits on women’s health and wellbeing and animal welfare. Lastly, integrating females’ and indigenous people’s viewpoints in One Health research could enhance the identification of sustainable solutions to tackle the burden of working equid diseases.

Farm level bio-economic modelling of aquatic animal disease and health interventions

A farm level bio-economic model, for aquatic animal production, of the relationships between inputs (e.g. purchased animals), outputs (e.g. harvested animals) and gross margin (GM) was developed to assess ex-ante the economics of disease and animal health interventions. Feed costs were calculated from estimates of food conversion ratio (FCR), animals harvested and mortality. The model was applied to a typical grow-out rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) farm on Lake Titicaca, Peru and a typical shrimp (Paenus vannamei) farm in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The model was used in two analyses. Firstly, an approach to assess the burden of disease developed by the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) project was adopted. Output under conditions of ‘ideal health’ was estimated by reducing mortality to zero and removing health costs. GM in both systems increased by approximately 25% when production was kept constant (and stocking rates reduced) and more than doubled if production was allowed to rise (and initial stocking increased). The increase in GM under conditions of ideal compared with current production provided an estimate of the maximum possible benefit from improved health management. Secondly, break-even analysis was used to assess the economics of vaccination against infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) vaccine (rainbow trout - RBT) and probiotics (shrimp). If initial stocking was kept constant, and production allowed to rise, break-even points for the intervention (when GM was the same with and without the intervention) were achieved when mortality was reduced by 16% in RBT fry and juvenile and 28% in shrimp. If production was kept constant and benefit realised by reduced initial stocking, the break-even point was achieved for i) vaccination of RBT when mortality in fry and juveniles was reduced by 39%, and ii) probiotics in shrimp production when there was a 15% reduction in mortality (nursery and grow-out), 10% increase in shrimp weight at harvest and 10% improvement in FCR. The results demonstrate how relatively simple models, parameterised with basic farm production data, can assess the burden of disease and quantify ex-ante the potential benefit of interventions. In the absence of trial data, these analyses support decision-making by farmers. The models can be adapted for many aquaculture systems. Farm level results can be extrapolated to estimate disease burden, and benefits of interventions, at regional or national level and thus support informed decision-making and allocation of resources to health management.

Review: Linking animal health measures in dairy cows to farm-level economic outcomes: a systematic literature mapping.

Farm animal health is an area of increasing interest to both the public and industry stakeholders. There is an ongoing debate on whether improving animal health, and thereby increasing welfare, is profitable or not. Improving animal health often requires investments in the farm or increases labour costs. As a result, the impact of animal health on farm economy is particularly interesting. This study systematically maps and assesses the available evidence in the published scientific literature regarding the link between farms' economic outcomes on dairy cow health, with the aim of identifying knowledge gaps in this field of research. In total, 59 peer-reviewed articles were included using a broad range of animal health variables and economic outcomes. We found a heterogeneous body of evidence in terms of both methods, animal health measures (AHMs) and economic outcome measures used. None of the included studies makes explicit causal claims between AHMs and economic outcomes. The results suggest that common production diseases such as clinical mastitis and lameness, which are painful and affect cow health and welfare, are costly for farmers. We found a knowledge gap and lack of evidence on the impact of animal health interventions on farms' economic outcomes, as well as the long-term effects of such interventions. Future research should aim to investigate the causal links between animal health and economic outcomes.

One Digital Health Intervention for Monitoring Human and Animal Welfare in Smart Cities: Viewpoint and Use Case.

Smart cities and digital public health are closely related. Managing digital transformation in urbanization and living spaces is challenging. It is critical to prioritize the emotional and physical health and well-being of humans and their animals in the dynamic and ever-changing environment they share. Human-animal bonds are continuous as they live together or share urban spaces and have a mutual impact on each other's health as well as the surrounding environment. In addition, sensors embedded in the Internet of Things are everywhere in smart cities. They monitor events and provide appropriate responses. In this regard, accident and emergency informatics (A&EI) offers tools to identify and manage overtime hazards and disruptive events. Such manifold focuses fit with One Digital Health (ODH), which aims to transform health ecosystems with digital technology by proposing a comprehensive framework to manage data and support health-oriented policies. We showed and discussed how, by developing the concept of ODH intervention, the ODH framework can support the comprehensive monitoring and analysis of daily life events of humans and animals in technologically integrated environments such as smart homes and smart cities. We developed an ODH intervention use case in which A&EI mechanisms run in the background. The ODH framework structures the related data collection and analysis to enhance the understanding of human, animal, and environment interactions and associated outcomes. The use case looks at the daily journey of Tracy, a healthy woman aged 27 years, and her dog Mego. Using medical Internet of Things, their activities are continuously monitored and analyzed to prevent or manage any kind of health-related abnormality. We reported and commented on an ODH intervention as an example of a real-life ODH implementation. We gave the reader examples of a "how-to" analysis of Tracy and Mego's daily life activities as part of a timely implementation of the ODH framework. For each activity, relationships to the ODH dimensions were scored, and relevant technical fields were evaluated in light of the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable principles. This "how-to" can be used as a template for further analyses. An ODH intervention is based on Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable data and real-time processing for global health monitoring, emergency management, and research. The data should be collected and analyzed continuously in a spatial-temporal domain to detect changes in behavior, trends, and emergencies. The information periodically gathered should serve human, animal, and environmental health interventions by providing professionals and caregivers with inputs and "how-to's" to improve health, welfare, and risk prevention at the individual and population levels. Thus, ODH complementarily combined with A&EI is meant to enhance policies and systems and modernize emergency management.

Application of environmental sampling to investigate a case of avian chlamydiosis in a pet store and breeding facility leading to mass bird exposures.

Chlamydia psittaci is a bacterium that causes chlamydiosis in birds and can cause zoonotic psittacosis in people. In November 2017, we received notification of a suspected case of avian chlamydiosis in a captive cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) that was sold by an online pet bird retail and breeding facility in Washington State. We describe the investigation with emphasis on how environmental sampling was used to guide veterinary and public health interventions. Bird samples were collected either from pooled droppings, pooled plumage or individual nasal and choanal swabs. Environmental samples were obtained by swabbing cleaning mops, tables and cage structures. All samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction and positive samples underwent genotyping. Approximately 1000 birds representing four taxonomic orders were kept within an open-space warehouse. Eight of 14 environmental samples and one of two pooled faecal samples were positive for Chlamydia spp. The contaminating strain of Chlamydia spp. was identified as genotype A. The facility was closed for environmental disinfection, and all psittacines were treated with oral doxycycline for 45 days. Ten of 10 environmental and two of two pooled faecal samples were negative for C. psittaci 11 months after the completion of environmental disinfection and antimicrobial treatment. This investigation highlights the importance of preventing and mitigating pathogen incursion in an online pet retail and breeding facility. Environmental sampling is valuable to guide animal and public health interventions for control of C. psittaci, particularly when large numbers of birds are exposed to the pathogen.

Informatics progress of the Global Burden of Animal Diseases programme towards data for One Health.

The Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) programme will provide data-driven evidence that policy-makers can use to evaluate options, inform decisions, and measure the success of animal health and welfare interventions. The GBADs' Informatics team is developing a transparent process for identifying, analysing, visualising and sharing data to calculate livestock disease burdens and drive models and dashboards. These data can be combined with data on other global burdens (human health, crop loss, foodborne diseases) to provide a comprehensive range of information on One Health, required to address such issues as antimicrobial resistance and climate change. The programme began by gathering open data from international organisations (which are undergoing their own digital transformations). Efforts to achieve an accurate estimate of livestock numbers revealed problems in finding, accessing and reconciling data from different sources over time. Ontologies and graph databases are being developed to bridge data silos and improve the findability and interoperability of data. Dashboards, data stories, a documentation website and a Data Governance Handbook explain GBADs data, now available through an application programming interface. Sharing data quality assessments builds trust in such data, encouraging their application to livestock and One Health issues. Animal welfare data present a particular challenge, as much of this information is held privately and discussions continue regarding which data are the most relevant. Accurate livestock numbers are an essential input for calculating biomass, which subsequently feeds into calculations of antimicrobial use and climate change. The GBADs data are also essential to at least eight of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

One Health Approach to Tick and Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance in the United Kingdom.

Where ticks are found, tick-borne diseases can present a threat to human and animal health. The aetiology of many of these important diseases, including Lyme disease, bovine babesiosis, tick-borne fever and louping ill, have been known for decades whilst others have only recently been documented in the United Kingdom (UK). Further threats such as the importation of exotic ticks through human activity or bird migration, combined with changes to either the habitat or climate could increase the risk of tick-borne disease persistence and transmission. Prevention of tick-borne diseases for the human population and animals (both livestock and companion) is dependent on a thorough understanding of where and when pathogen transmission occurs. This information can only be gained through surveillance that seeks to identify where tick populations are distributed, which pathogens are present within those populations, and the periods of the year when ticks are active. To achieve this, a variety of approaches can be applied to enhance knowledge utilising a diverse range of stakeholders (public health professionals and veterinarians through to citizen scientists). Without this information, the application of mitigation strategies to reduce pathogen transmission and impact is compromised and the ability to monitor the effects of climate change or landscape modification on the risk of tick-borne disease is more challenging. However, as with many public and animal health interventions, there needs to be a cost-benefit assessment on the most appropriate intervention applied. This review will assess the challenges of tick-borne diseases in the UK and argue for a cross-disciplinary approach to their surveillance and control.

Discerning risk and uncertainty with “better insurance” – How animal health interventions for village chickens influence farmers’ perceptions on the prevention of poultry diseases

High mortality in young chicks and deaths from Newcastle disease (ND) are the two major constraints to village chicken production in low-and middle-income countries. A 12-month intervention study was conducted across 174 households in two townships of Central Myanmar, to reduce these chicken mortalities. Interventions included ND vaccinations of village chickens and improved chick management. Following the Health Belief Model (HBM) framework, 81 village chicken farmers involved in the intervention study were repeatedly surveyed before and after the interventions to determine the level of change in farmers’ knowledge about ND, perceptions about susceptibility and severity of ND virus infection, perceptions about benefits and barriers of ND vaccination, as well as farmers’ actions to improve the health status of their birds and to improve biosecurity and ND control measures. Marginal homogeneity tests were used to compare the level of change in farmers' matched responses to individual survey questions before and after the interventions. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling was used to create latent variables describing farmers’ perceptions about susceptibility and severity of ND in their birds, farmers’ perceptions about the barriers and benefits of conducting ND vaccination as well as farmers' cues to action and self-efficacy before and after the interventions. Interventions resulted in 33% more chicks surviving, which resulted in increased sales of birds after they had reached a market age of 7 months. After the interventions, farmers acknowledged the value of protecting birds from ND to increase their income (p = 0.0002). Farmers were also more willing to overcome barriers to vaccination (i.e., ‘catching’ birds for ND vaccinations) after the interventions (p = 0.0388). Interestingly, after the interventions, fewer farmers were concerned about the risk of their birds becoming infected with ND virus through cock fights and non-confinement (p = 0.0008 and p = 0.00022, respectively), and farmers were more uncertain about the susceptibility of their birds to ND virus infection after the interventions. Surprisingly, farmers became ‘less active’ in ensuring good biosecurity practices after the interventions: fewer farmers were willing to observe disease signs in village chickens (p < 0.001) and fewer farmers buried dead birds (p < 0.001). Perceived susceptibility was the only HBM component that was significantly reduced (p = 0.014) after the interventions: thus, less farmers were concerned about ND even when using management practices associated with high risk of ND transmission (e.g., cook fights, no confinement). Our results highlight the importance of information campaigns and extension work to ensure farmers maintain a high level of biosecurity when animal health interventions are implemented.

Comparison of milk replacer composition and effects on growth and health of preruminant lambs, and health-associated costs of artificial rearing

This research evaluated the effects of 2 milk replacer (MR) formulations on lamb performance, morbidity, mortality, and antibiotic usage and health-associated costs of artificial lamb rearing. East-Friesian male lambs (n = 206; BW = 4.9 ± 0.24 kg; 2–5 d of age) were stratified by BW and age and randomly allocated to 1 of 8 pens per treatment (10–15 lambs/pen). Lambs were artificially reared on 1 of 2 commercially available MR formulations [MR1 (100% milk protein): 25.3% protein, 26.5% milk fat, 34.9% lactose; MR2 (milk protein + hydrolyzed wheat protein): 23% protein, 24.3% vegetable oil, 30.4% lactose]. The MR was offered ad libitum via automatic feeders, mixed on-demand at 230 g/L of MR at 37°C. Lambs had free access to grass hay throughout the study. Lamb BW was recorded on entry and weekly thereafter to determine ADG and the time taken to reach a minimum of 13.5 kg of BW. Individual animal health assessments were undertaken daily for the first 4 d and weekly thereafter, and any animal health issues were recorded. All animal health interventions including antibiotic use, mortality, and labor requirements for animal health and hygiene management were recorded. Lamb mortality was similar between MR1 and MR2 lambs (8 vs. 10%, P = 0.79). Overall, ADG was greater for MR1 than MR2 (mean ± SE: 296 ± 17.6 vs. 242 ± 17.7 g/d, P = 0.02). For lambs not treated with antibiotics, ADG was greater in MR1 versus MR2 lambs (331 ± 12.3 vs. 305 ± 13.5 g/d, P = 0.03) resulting in fewer days to reach a minimum of 13.5 kg of BW (target for weaning: 30 ± 1.3 vs. 33 ± 1.4 d, P = 0.03). Thus, the percentage of lambs that reached 13.5 kg without antibiotic treatment was greater in MR1 than in MR2 lambs (73 ± 4.4 vs. 48 ± 4.9%, P < 0.001). Overall, 4 times more lambs failed to reach 13.5 kg by the end of the study in MR2 than in MR1 (16 vs. 4%, P = 0.009) reflecting their 53 g/d lower ADG. A much lower incidence (range from 1.5 to 13 times) of animal health issues and associated antibiotic use was observed with MR1 compared with MR2 lambs. As a result, the costs associated with animal health interventions were greater for MR2 than for MR1 ($NZ17.2 vs. $NZ7.32 per head). Milk replacer formulation did not affect mortality rates; however, ADG was greater and morbidity, antibiotic use, and costs of animal health interventions were lower in lambs reared on a MR formulated from 100% milk proteins and fats compared with MR containing a combination of milk protein, hydrolyzed wheat protein, and vegetable oil.

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.

Preparing for animal health emergencies: considerations for economic evaluation.

Livestock production systems and the societies in which they are embedded face a set of risks presented by infectious diseases and natural and human-made disasters which compromise animal health. Within this set, threats are posed by natural, deliberate and accidental actions that can cause sudden changes in animal health status, requiring the allocation of additional resources to manage animal health. Determining the benefit of preparing for such emergencies is a challenge when the total set of risks includes the unknown. Any method for analysing the economic costs and benefits of animal health emergencies must not only accommodate this uncertainty, but make it a central feature of the analysis. Cost-benefit analysis is a key approach to economically evaluating animal health interventions. However, the value of this approach in dealing with uncertainty is often called into question. This paper makes the case that, by restricting the outcomes of an emergency event to specified states of nature, boundaries can be placed on the uncertainty space, allowing cost-benefit analysis to be performed. This method, which merges state-contingent analysis with cost-benefit analysis, is presented here. Further discussion on the economic characteristics of emergency events, and the nature of the threats posed to animal health systems, is also provided.

Integrated Health Interventions for Improved Livelihoods: A Case Study in Ethiopia

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face multifaceted and co-existing risks, such as human and animal diseases and pests. Even though smallholder farmers often experience these challenges simultaneously, interventions to address these challenges are often implemented in a piecemeal fashion. However, managing agricultural production constraints without alleviating human and livestock health burdens might not generate significant and sustained benefits to achieve the desired development outcome (e.g., reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty). As such, building farmers’ resilience and adaptive capacity to co-existing production constraints and health burdens may require an integrated and holistic approach. Understanding the potential benefits of an integrated approach would provide critical information, for example, for revisiting the extension systems and for designing pro-poor holistically integrated interventions to tackle interrelated challenges facing smallholder farmers. In this paper, we examined the economic benefits of integrated human–plant–animal health interventions aimed at controlling malaria, stemborer infestations of crops, and trypanosomiasis, along with beekeeping as a livelihood diversification option in rural Ethiopia. We developed a whole-farm multiperiod mathematical linear programming model to examine the economic consequences of the interventions. Our results suggest that relaxing livelihoods and the human–plant–animal health constraints that farmers face has the potential to at least double income. The results further show that exploiting the potential synergies among interventions can generate higher economic benefits. The annual income from the combined interventions is 35% higher than the sum of the income gains from each intervention alone. Our results support an integrated approach to achieve holistic outcomes in areas where these development constraints co-exist.

Application of Mixed Methods to Identify Small Ruminant Disease Priorities in Ethiopia.

Animal health interventions tend to focus on transboundary or zoonotic animal diseases and little attention is given to diseases that mainly affect livestock production and productivity which are of concern for smallholder farmers. To understand disease priorities of men and women livestock keepers and how these impact households, this study used participatory methods to elucidate priorities, reasons for prioritization, knowledge on small ruminant diseases and their transmission pathways. The study was conducted in 23 sites distributed across 14 districts in four regional states of Ethiopia. Ninety-two focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with men or women only groups. Various tools, such as semi-structured interviews, simple scoring and proportional piling were used to facilitate the process. A follow-up household survey involving 432 households/interviewees collected in-depth data on key small ruminant diseases. Each focus group identified and scored their top five diseases. During analysis, the diseases were grouped in to seven major categories based on local names and clinical signs reported. Highest scores in proportional piling (out of 100 counters) were obtained for respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal parasites in highland areas (mixed crop-livestock systems) with strong agreement among respondent groups using Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) (W = 0.395, p < 0.01); whereas in lowland areas (pastoral and agro-pastoral systems), the priorities were respiratory and neurological diseases, also with very strong agreement (W = 0.995, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between men and women in prioritizing disease constraints. The reasons for prioritization were also used to define categories of impact of disease. The household survey confirmed disease priorities and highlighted the role of mortality for respiratory diseases. Despite differences in household roles, both men and women unvaryingly described the clinical signs in live animals the same way and reported similar observations of disease in carcasses of slaughtered animals. Overall, both men and women farmers had low awareness of zoonotic diseases. In conclusion, the priorities of national disease control programs do not fully match priorities of farmers. Such participatory tools should therefore, play a pivotal role when designing sustainable livestock health interventions.

THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF (HOW WE MANAGE) ANIMAL DISEASE: LEARNING LESSONS FROM SOUTHERN AFRICA

It is long past the time when we should be recognizing that the potential impacts of animal health interventions focused on livestock may in fact be far from environmentally benign. "First, do no harm" must apply to animal health policy-making as much as these wise words apply to clinical practice. An effort to assess the Global Burden of Animal Diseases, analogous to a long-standing and highly regarded endeavor in the public health realm, has only just been recently announced. This development offers an important opportunity for the formulation of data-driven policy guidance in support of holistic animal health and land-use management decisions that are more likely to be socially, ecologically, and economically sustainable for generations to come.

Assessing the impact of a novel strategy for delivering animal health interventions to smallholder farmers

In many countries of the developing world village poultry play a vital role in the rural economy, providing a source of protein and valuable income with relatively small investments. In almost all areas in which village poultry are raised Newcastle disease (ND) is identified as one of the biggest causes of poultry loss, this is often coupled with a lack of knowledge of poultry management practices. Inexpensive and effective vaccines are available that are suitable for use in rural village environments, but in many areas service providers and reliable structures for delivery remain an obstacle to uptake of vaccines. To overcome this, GALVmed has implemented a network for vaccine distribution in which individuals in the villages are trained as vaccinators. The vaccinators purchase ND vaccines from local agro-veterinary stores and sell single doses at market determined prices. Implementation of these networks was preceded by a programme of smallholder sensitisation to increase awareness of diseases and flock management practices. Here we present analysis of the impacts of this scheme on village poultry production. We compare the results of a baseline survey carried out before implementation of the networks, with the results of a survey 16–24 months following implementation. We present results in terms of the uptake of ND vaccine, flock size, consumption of poultry meat, and poultry sales from Gairo district in Tanzania, Mayurbhanj district in India and Banke district in Nepal. In all areas, there was a significant increase in the numbers of flocks that were using ND vaccines, with over 75% uptake in all areas, reaching 98% in India. In all areas flock sizes doubled, the numbers of eggs that were set for hatching and that hatched increased by 25–50% and there was an increase in the frequency with which chicken meat was consumed and chickens were sold. Additionally, farmers reported fewer ND outbreaks, but this is prone to reporting bias and so improvements in production cannot be categorically ascribed to ND vaccination. These results have shown that establishing a market driven approach for the distribution of ND vaccines and community sensitisation on poultry husbandry practices results in a high rate of uptake of the vaccines. The results also suggest a reduction in the number of ND outbreaks and improvements to the livelihoods of rural smallholders.

Animal health economics: an aid to decisionmaking on animal health interventions - case studies in the United States of America.

For animal disease events the outcomes and consequences often remain unclear or uncertain, including the expected changes in benefits (e.g. profit to firms, prices to consumers) and in costs (e.g. response, clean-up). Moreover, the measurement of changes in benefits and costs across alternative interventions used to control animal disease events may be inexact. For instance, the economic consequences of alternative vaccination strategies to mitigate a disease can vary in magnitude due to trade embargoes and other factors. The authors discuss the economic measurement of animal disease outbreaks and interventions and how measurement is used in private and public decision-making. Two illustrative case studies in the United States of America are provided: a hypothetical outbreak of foot and mouth disease in cattle, and the 2014-2015 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry.

Conservation and Improvement Strategy for Fogera Cattle: A Lesson for Ethiopia Ingenious Cattle Breed Resource

The paper is initiated to design appropriate conservation strategies and breeding scheme for Fogera cattle breed that will be used as a guide for other Ethiopian indigenous cattle breed. Two types of data, on-farm and on-station, were used; the on-farm data was collected from three districts, namely, Fogera, Dera, and Bahir Dar Zuria; those are expected as the home of the breed. A total of 150 farmers, which are knowledgeable and having at least one cattle of Fogera phenotype in their herd, were purposively selected and interviewed. Additionally, farmer’s focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted to capture the historical background, population, and distribution of the breed. SPSS (version 16) and index method was used to analyze the quantitative and scoring data’s, respectively. A meeting at national and regional level was also conducted to evaluate the existing conservation strategy and to identify the major stakeholders for the strategy. The main reasons to conserve Fogera breed are due to presence of interrelated constraints, presence of unique traits of the breed, better attitude of farmers, and decreasing population trend of the breed. Community-based in situ conservation strategy, to ensure the participation of the community, was designed for the breed. With the conservation strategy, related activities like feed development, animal health interventions, market linkage, and development of cooperatives will be implemented to improve the working environment. The stakeholders that are identified as an actor in the strategy should realize their honest participation for the sustainability of conservation and improvement of the breed.