A Participatory Epidemiological Study of Major Cattle Diseases in Urban and Peri-urban Dairy Settings in Ethiopia

Background: Dairy production and productivity are highly affected by infectious disease incidence aggravated with low surveillance and veterinary service. In recent years, participatory and One Health approaches for the study of veterinary epidemiological disease investigation are increasingly being used as methods to gain information about farmers’ knowledge and insight into livestock and human diseases. Understanding the mechanisms for the management of animal diseases and disease burdens among farm households as well as farm workers’ is very crucial for designing contagious zoonotic disease control strategies

Aim: To identify and prioritize major cattle diseases affecting urban and peri-urban dairy systems and disease mitigation methods practice in Ethiopia through participatory epidemiological methods.

Methodology: A participatory epidemiological study was conducted from March 2019-February 2021 in six towns in Ethiopia where there is intensive urban and peri-urban dairy production to study farmers’ perspectives on the major cattle diseases in terms of their etiology, prevalence, and management. Data collection was conducted through focus group discussion and key informant interview. Two focus group discussions were conducted in small holder producers with less than 5 cattle and farms with more than five cattle making it a total of 12 focus group discussion. A total of 156 representatives from the two groups, of which 55 were female, participated in these discussions. Ranking and scoring techniques using 100 beans were conducted.

Results: The study revealed that mastitis, hypocalcaemia, foot and mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, blackleg, and coughing, of which the latter may be related to bovine tuberculosis, were ranked as the most prevalent and economically important diseases in Ethiopian urban and peri-urban dairy farms. Pair-wise rankings emphasized that disease impact varied by farm size, with smallholders focusing more on infectious diseases and medium-to-large farms on production-related diseases. The major criteria for disease ranking by the respondents were based on contagiousness, prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates, economic impact, treatment cost, and zoonotic potential. Notably, infectious diseases like foot and mouth disease, lumpy skin disease and bovine tuberculosis ranked high due to their significant impact on productivity and lack of effective curative measures. Reproductive and metabolic disorders, such as mastitis and milk fever, were prioritized by medium-to-large farms due to their effects on milk production and economic sustainability. Regarding knowledge and awareness level of dairy farmers on case fatality rate, there was a significant difference in the median scores of the diseases between the two groups; Z=-2.207 and P=0.027, suggesting that the two groups (small holder and medium to large farms) did not have similar understanding of the case fatality rates of the listed diseases. The costs associated with isolation and cares for disease management are often excessive and can lead to farm bankruptcy. This study indicates that in the absence of a monitoring mechanism for cattle trade and regulation of animal slaughtering remain as primary risk factors for the spread of contagious and zoonotic diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, anthrax, Foot and Mouth Disease, Lumpy Skin Disease, etc.

Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of farmers understanding on farm-specific disease priorities through participatory disease epidemiological study to design effective and scalable interventions on contagious and zoonotic dairy cattle disease management in urban and per-urban settings in Ethiopia through trade movement restriction and slaughtering control mechanism.