7 research outputs found
Characterisation and modeling of cattle movements in Cameroon
Introduction
In sub-Saharan Africa, rapid urbanisation and per capita consumption of animal
source foods are expected to accelerate in the short-medium term and to increase
the movements of live animals and animal products in the region. In Cameroon,
where the livelihood of most of the rural population depends on the agricultural
and livestock sector, a wide range of endemic transboundary infectious diseases
(TADs) affect livestock production and trade, and have direct detrimental effects
on animal, human and environmental health. Livestock mobility represents a
central economic activity in the livestock value chain of the country as well as a
central strategy of seasonal adaptation to the ecosystem. Livestock movements,
however, are also a central driver of infectious diseases dynamics and contacts
between livestock populations are major risk factors for disease introduction and
circulation. In countries where financial and technical resources are constrained,
such as Cameroon, strategic interventions aiming at the surveillance and control
of multiple infectious diseases simultaneously are essential for optimising their
cost-effectiveness. The overall aim of this study was to apply a methodological
framework to contribute to the understanding of cattle movements in Cameroon
and of their implications for disease circulation.
Methods
This project used a variety of epidemiological and statistical methods to characterise
cattle movements in the country across different scales. The collection
of primary data and information targeted both the formal cattle trade system,
across the country, and the informal seasonal transhumance, across the main livestock
production areas. Between September 2014 and May 2015 diverse strategies
were applied for collecting empirical data and various data sources from multiple
Regions of the country were combined. Cattle trade in Cameroon mainly occurs
via multiple trading points owned and managed either by the veterinary authorities or the municipalities. A total of 62 livestock markets, and the relevant offices
of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Products (MINEPIA), were
targeted for collecting official data on cattle trade referring to a 12-month period
ranging between September 2013 and August 2014. Additionally, a questionnaire-based
survey with the various livestock markets stakeholders (herders, traders,
butchers and veterinary officials) was carried out to collect a variety of information
on the cattle market system. During this 9-month period of field work, data
on cattle seasonal transhumance were simultaneously collected using a combination
of GPS-tracking technology and questionnaire-based survey.
Results
Volumes of cattle trade, the type of traded animals and their commercial values
varied over the year and across the Regions of the country included in this study.
Nevertheless, the market supply of live cattle showed similar temporal trends over
the year and across the Regions. Although for almost the entire study area the
peak of traded animals in the market system was in December 2013, the trade
volume was consistently higher during the rainy season (May to September).
On the contrary, the reduction in the trade volume during the dry season was
accompanied by an opposite trend in the cattle price, with their commercial value
being higher during the dry season. Furthermore, a cattle price differential was
highlighted between production Regions and high consumption Regions of the
country.
The highest volume of cattle trade was recorded in the Adamawa Region, which
was the main source of cattle for the country while also receiving animals from
neighbouring countries, such as Chad and Central African Republic. In contrast,
major urban markets in the Littoral and Central Regions were the main receivers
of cattle originating from almost all the other areas of the country. Interestingly,
the North-West Region appeared to be more independent and isolated within
the cattle trade network of Cameroon, particularly receiving few animals from
other Regions. Importantly, there was little variation in the structural characteristics
of the cattle trade network as well as in its properties across seasons,
showing that, despite the seasonality in traded numbers, the network of cattle
moving between markets in Cameroon is very stable. This consistent structure
of the network over the year increases the robustness of strategic targeted interventions.
We found that targeting the top 20% of the most connected markets
would significantly reduce the network cohesiveness providing opportunities for
strategic disease surveillance, communication and risk mitigation interventions.
The centrality of the market within the trading network was also found to be
positively associated with the price of live cattle, which tended to be heavily
affected by phenotypic characteristics of the traded cattle. The seasonal cattle
transhumance has been found as a common and widespread practice for herders
attending the market system across whole the study area, highlighting the close
relation between formal trading movements and informal pastoral movements
across the country. Transhumant herds were observed to undertake migrations
across multiple Regions for period exceeding 6 months and showing the potential
for multiple types of interactions with domestic and wild animals.
Discussion
Multiple livestock infectious diseases were identified as being related to the cattle
trade system. As neighbouring and non-neighbouring countries were found to
be epidemiologically connected it is clear that national strategies for surveillance
and control are likely to have limited effectiveness. Regional coordination for designing
and implementing prevention and mitigation strategies against infectious
diseases is essential to improve animal health also at national level. This study
highlights the opportunity for strategic surveillance, control and communication
interventions targeting key livestock markets and Regions of Cameroon. Live
cattle price and centrality of markets, represented by their connectedness within
the trading network, highlights the need to further investigate the links between
economic factors and drivers of disease dynamics, such as livestock movements.
The complexity of cattle movements in this context was further evidenced by
the seasonal transhumance representing an established common mechanism for
managing livestock, and closely interacting with the formal trading system as
well as with other domestic and wild animal populations. Better data collection
and analysis of livestock movements is required for improving the effectiveness of
surveillance and control of infectious diseases. Although animal identification and
registration systems would represent an ideal step for increasing traceability of
cattle movements, enhancing animal health management and the overall competitiveness
of the livestock industry, in the short-term a cost-effective intervention
should aim at further developing the current data recording and management
systems. Pastoralism, for long seen as an economic and environmental activity
with little future, also needs to be acknowledged as a key component of the livestock
production system in the country and to be considered accordingly in the
management of infectious diseases
Cattle transhumance and agropastoral nomadic herding practices in central Cameroon
Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, livestock transhumance represents a key adaptation strategy to environmental variability. In this context, seasonal livestock transhumance also plays an important role in driving the dynamics of multiple livestock infectious diseases. In Cameroon, cattle transhumance is a common practice during the dry season across all the main livestock production zones. Currently, the little recorded information of the migratory routes, grazing locations and nomadic herding practices adopted by pastoralists, limits our understanding of pastoral cattle movements in the country. GPS-tracking technology in combination with a questionnaire based-survey were used to study a limited pool of 10 cattle herds from the Adamawa Region of Cameroon during their seasonal migration, between October 2014 and May 2015. The data were used to analyse the trajectories and movement patterns, and to characterize the key animal health aspects related to this seasonal migration in Cameroon. Results Several administrative Regions of the country were visited by the transhumant herds over more than 6Â months. Herds travelled between 53 and 170Â km to their transhumance grazing areas adopting different strategies, some travelling directly to their destination areas while others having multiple resting periods and grazing areas. Despite their limitations, these are among the first detailed data available on transhumance in Cameroon. These reports highlight key livestock health issues and the potential for multiple types of interactions between transhumant herds and other domestic and wild animals, as well as with the formal livestock trading system. Conclusion Overall, these findings provide useful insights into transhumance patterns and into the related animal health implications recorded in Cameroon. This knowledge could better inform evidence-based approaches for designing infectious diseases surveillance and control measures and help driving further studies to improve the understanding of risks associated with livestock movements in the region
Accuracy of Herdsmen Reporting versus Serologic Testing for Estimating Foot-and-Mouth Disease Prevalence
Herdsman-reported disease prevalence is widely used in veterinary epidemiologic studies, especially for diseases with visible external lesions; however, the accuracy of such reports is rarely validated. Thus, we used latent class analysis in a Bayesian framework to compare sensitivity and specificity of herdsman reporting with virus neutralization testing and use of 3 nonstructural protein ELISAs for estimates of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) prevalence on the Adamawa plateau of Cameroon in 2000. Herdsman-reported estimates in this FMD-endemic area were comparable to those obtained from serologic testing. To harness to this cost-effective resource of monitoring emerging infectious diseases, we suggest that estimates of the sensitivity and specificity of herdsmen reporting should be done in parallel with serologic surveys of other animal diseases.Fil: Morgan, Kenton L.. University of Liverpool; Reino UnidoFil: Handel, Ian G.. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Tanya, Vincent N.. Institute of Agricultural Research for Development; CamerĂșn. Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation; CamerĂșnFil: Hamman, Saidou M.. Institute of Agricultural Research for Development; CamerĂșnFil: Nfon, Charles. Institute of Agricultural Research for Development; CamerĂșnFil: Bergmann, Ingrid Evelyn. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencias y TecnologĂa "Dr. Cesar Milstein"; Argentina. Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center; BrasilFil: Malirat, Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencias y TecnologĂa "Dr. Cesar Milstein"; Argentina. Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center; BrasilFil: Sorensen, Karl J.. Danish Veterinary Institute for Virus Research; DinamarcaFil: Bronsvoort, Barend M de C,. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unid
Knowledge of Bovine Tuberculosis, Cattle Husbandry and Dairy Practices amongst Pastoralists and Small-Scale Dairy Farmers in Cameroon
BACKGROUND:Control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and zoonotic tuberculosis (zTB) has relied upon surveillance and slaughter of infected cattle, milk pasteurisation and public health education. In Cameroon, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, there is limited understanding of current cattle husbandry or milk processing practices or livestock keepers awareness of bTB. This paper describes husbandry and milk processing practices within different Cameroonian cattle keeping communities and bTB awareness in comparison to other infectious diseases. STUDY DESIGN:A population based cross-sectional sample of herdsmen and a questionnaire were used to gather data from pastoralists and dairy farmers in the North West Region and Vina Division of Cameroon. RESULTS:Pastoralists were predominately male Fulanis who had kept cattle for over a decade. Dairy farmers were non-Fulani and nearly half were female. Pastoralists went on transhumance with their cattle and came into contact with other herds and potential wildlife reservoirs of bTB. Dairy farmers housed their cattle and had little contact with other herds or wildlife. Pastoralists were aware of bTB and other infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and fasciolosis. These pastoralists were also able to identify clinical signs of these diseases. A similar proportion of dairy farmers were aware of bTB but fewer were aware of foot-and-mouth and fasciolosis. In general, dairy farmers were unable to identify any clinical signs for any of these diseases. Importantly most pastoralists and dairy farmers were unaware that bTB could be transmitted to people by consuming milk. CONCLUSIONS:Current cattle husbandry practices make the control of bTB in cattle challenging especially in mobile pastoralist herds. Routine test and slaughter control in dairy herds would be tractable but would have profound impact on dairy farmer livelihoods. Prevention of transmission in milk offers the best approach for human risk mitigation in Cameroon but requires strategies that improved risk awareness amongst producers and consumers
Frequency of clinical signs identified for bovine tuberculosis and fasciolosis.
<p>Y-axis intervals are for every 20% of cattle keepers âawareâ of the disease.</p
Map of Cameroon.
<p>The location of cattle rearing areas (light grey), study sites (pink and blue) and major cities (red).</p