Livestock mortality in pastoralist herds in Ethiopia and implications for drought response.

Participatory epidemiology methods were employed retrospectively in three pastoralist regions of Ethiopia to estimate the specific causes of excess livestock mortality during drought. The results showed that starvation/dehydration accounted for between 61.5 and 100 per cent of excess livestock mortality during drought, whereas disease-related mortality accounted for between 0 and 28.1 per cent of excess mortality. Field observations indicate that, in livestock, disease risks and mortality increase in the immediate post-drought period, during rain. The design of livelihoods-based drought response programmes should include protection of core livestock assets, and it should take account of the specific causes of excess livestock mortality during drought and immediately afterwards. This study shows that, when comparing livestock feed supplementation and veterinary support, relatively more aid should be directed at the former if the objective is to protect core livestock during drought. Veterinary support should consider disease-related mortality in the immediate post-drought period, and tailor inputs accordingly.

Risk assessments of lumpy skin diseases in Borena bull market chain and its implication for livelihoods and international trade.

Risks of introduction of lumpy skin disease (LSD) through traded Borena bulls to market chain and its consequences were assessed. The assessment used the framework that has been recommended by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) for risk analysis. Likelihoods for release and exposure were estimated by a qualitative scale ranging from negligible to very high, whereas the consequences which resulted from disease occurrences were assessed quantitatively. The likelihood of the introduction of LSD to the market chain through traded Borena bulls is found to be high (medium uncertainty), whereas the probability of exposure is very high (medium uncertainty). From the total of 11,189 bulls observed during outbreak investigation of LSD in six sites of feedlot operation in and around Adama, 681(6.1 %) and 204 (1.8 %) bulls were found to be affected and dead with LSD, respectively. The total economic loss due to LSD was estimated to be 667,785.6 USD. The risk estimates for LSD are greater than negligible; therefore, disease prevention and control strategy along the chain should be carefully considered by the Ethiopian veterinary services.

Interventions to reduce camel and small ruminant young stock morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia.

Morbidity and mortality of young stock is a challenge for livestock producers globally. In Ethiopia, where camels and small ruminants (sheep and goats) are essential smallholder and pastoral livestock, young stock losses can cause severe consequences to livelihoods. This pilot study, part of a Government-led Young Stock Mortality Reduction Consortium project, was undertaken to identify and evaluate interventions to reduce young stock mortality in mixed crop-livestock and pastoral production systems in Ethiopia. Pastoralists and mixed crop-livestock farmers were enrolled by convenience sampling across four regions. Households were sampled with questionnaire surveys to establish baseline mortality risk and prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease in animals younger than one year, and followed longitudinally over a one-year period, with final evaluations conducted from March to July 2020. Mortality risk and prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease before and after implementation were compared using Poisson regression models including household as random effect. Prior to intervention, median camel mortality, prevalence of diarrhoea, and respiratory disease across production systems in the different households was 0.4, 0.44 and 0.2, respectively. This compared to median pastoralist small ruminant mortality risk and prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease of 0.45, 0.32 and 0.18, respectively. Post-intervention, median camel mortality, prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease dropped to 0.1, 0.08 and 0. Similarly, more than half of the small ruminant households reported no mortality, and no cases of diarrhoea or respiratory disease. In camels, rate ratios of mortality risk, prevalence of diarrhoea, and respiratory disease post-intervention compared to the baseline were 0.41, 0.41 and 0.37. In small ruminants, rate ratios were 0.33, 0.35 and 0.46. All reductions were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Generally, pastoralists experienced higher mortality and disease prevalence compared to mixed crop-livestock smallholders, and the effect of intervention was slightly higher in pastoralist households. The pilot study findings demonstrated highly significant reductions in mortality and risk of diarrhoea and respiratory disease post-interventions. However, not all households benefitted from the interventions, with a few households reporting increased mortality and morbidity. Many households had very few animals which made it challenging to measure impact and the study was conducted over a single year, without a control group, so between year effects could not be accounted for in the reductions observed. These findings should contribute to improved livestock productivity in Ethiopia.

Reducing Calf Mortality in Ethiopia.

Morbidity and mortality of young stock present economic and production challenges to livestock producers globally. In Ethiopia, calf morbidity and mortality rates, particularly due to diarrhea and respiratory disease, are high, limiting production, incomes, and the ability of farmers to improve their livelihoods. In this paper, we present findings from the combined experience of the Young Stock Mortality Reduction Consortium, which conducted epidemiological and intervention testing in calves across three production systems. This innovative alliance identified Cryptosporidium parvum and E. Coli K99 as the most common causes of diarrhea in pastoral and peri-urban calves; Strongyloides spp. as the most common fecal parasite in mixed crop-livestock and peri-urban calves; and bovine adenovirus, parainfluenza virus-3, and bovine respiratory syncytial virus as the most common respiratory pathogens in peri-urban calves. Furthermore, by improving producer knowledge with respect to fundamental livestock husbandry, feeding, housing, and neonatal care practices, calf mortality risk across production systems was reduced by 31.4 to 71.4% compared to baseline (between 10.5 and 32.1%), whereas risk of diarrhea was reduced by 52.6-75.3% (baseline between 11.4 and 30.4%) and risk of respiratory disease was reduced by 23.6-80.8% (baseline between 3.3 and 16.3%). These findings have informed scaling strategies and can potentially contribute to improved livestock productivity and human livelihoods in Ethiopia.

Impact of drought-related vaccination on livestock mortality in pastoralist areas of Ethiopia.

Under a national Livestock Policy Forum in Ethiopia the impact of livestock vaccination during drought was assessed in order to inform the development of a best-practice guideline. For each of the different types of vaccine used during drought years there was no significant difference in livestock mortality, for any species, in vaccinated compared with non-vaccinated herds. The limited impact of vaccination on livestock mortality was attributed to weaknesses in the design and implementation of vaccination programmes, including use of inappropriate vaccines, low vaccination coverage, problems with vaccine dosing, incorrect timing of vaccination and problems with vaccine storage. If these weaknesses could be overcome vaccination could be a useful means to protect livestock assets, with considerable benefit-cost ratios. Vaccination should be conducted as a standard preventive measure during normal years, and programme design should be informed by participatory epidemiological studies.

Rinderpest eradication: appropriate technology and social innovations.

Rinderpest is only the second infectious disease to have been globally eradicated. In the final stages of eradication, the virus was entrenched in pastoral areas of the Greater Horn of Africa, a region with weak governance, poor security, and little infrastructure that presented profound challenges to conventional control methods. Although the eradication process was a development activity rather than scientific research, its success owed much to several seminal research efforts in vaccine development and epidemiology and showed what scientific decision-making and management could accomplish with limited resources. The keys to success were the development of a thermostable vaccine and the application of participatory epidemiological techniques that allowed veterinary personnel to interact at a grassroots level with cattle herders to more effectively target control measures.