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 6 months. Herds travelled between 53 and 170 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; Camerún. Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation; CamerúnFil: Hamman, Saidou M.. Institute of Agricultural Research for Development; CamerúnFil: Nfon, Charles. Institute of Agricultural Research for Development; CamerúnFil: Bergmann, Ingrid Evelyn. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología "Dr. Cesar Milstein"; Argentina. Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center; BrasilFil: Malirat, Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencias y Tecnología "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 “aware” 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