Laos long-term study on zoonotic parasitic diseases in livestock: Approaches and initial challenges using a cross-sectorial approach

Parasites (including zoonoses) in livestock and fish are widely distributed in Laos and can have a significant impact as foodborne diseases and also on economy, public health and international food trade. In addition some characteristics of animal production and food consumption habits in Laos may promote zoonotic disease transmission. The objectives of this study are to assess parasitic zoonoses distribution, improve animal health, reduce animal and human health risks and develop a cross-sectorial collaboration platform and dissemination strategy. By using companion modeling (ComMod) that has been applied in the field of participatory natural resource management and the OneHealth approach our research will strongly focus on community involvement and cross-sectoral collaboration among stakeholders. Following an across discipline research team consisting of vets, public health and social scientists has been established. Moreover, a research framework has been jointly developed by team members that include quantitative (e.g. serological sampling) and also qualitative methods such as PRA and PE. Investigation and Data collection targeting three provinces of southern Laos will commence with PRA/PE in June and last until December 2015 followed by serological sampling for prioritized parasitic zoonoses in 2016. Expected outputs are the distribution for prioritized parasitic zoonosis, better knowledge and understanding on parasitic zoonoses and related risk factors, a set of feasible control options and a cross-sectoral collaboration platform. Initial challenges (e.g. identification of a common research topic) and how they were addressed will be presented apart from preliminary PRA results on diseases prioritization (livestock and humans) if timely available

Urban and peri-urban family-based pig-keeping in Cambodia : Characteristics, management and perceived benefits and constraints

Keeping pigs in urban and peri-urban areas may not only provide many benefits for the urban households, but may also be challenging and a potential health hazard. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe household characteristics and to evaluate perceived benefits and constraints among pig-keepers in the urban and peri-urban areas of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The study included 204 households and a structured questionnaire was used to interview the household member responsible for taking care of the pigs. Descriptive analyses showed that most households kept between 5 and 15 pigs and that all households kept their pigs in confinement. About 97% of the households owned the pigs themselves and the pigs were generally managed by female household members (43%). Pigs were mainly kept for commercial purposes and more than 60% of the households stated that income from pig-keeping was the main or one of the main sources of revenue for the household. More than 82% reported that they had experienced disease outbreaks among their pigs during the past three years and disease outbreaks were more commonly reported in households with lower socio-economic position (P = 0.025). Disease outbreaks were considered one of the main constraints, along with expensive feed and low payment prices for the slaughter pigs, but few households considered sanitary or other public health issues problematic. Thus, pig-keeping makes an important contribution to the livelihoods of urban and peri-urban households, but many households face external constraints on their production, such as diseases and low revenues, which may have a negative impact on their livelihoods