Predictors of Clients' Satisfaction with Delivery of Animal Health Care Services in Periurban Ghana

The study used logistic regression modelling to determine predictors of satisfaction with delivery of animal health care services for 889 clients (livestock and poultry keepers) in periurban Ghana. Of the 15 indicators tested as predictors of satisfaction in this study, 8 were included in the best fit model. These were accessibility, availability of services, service charge, effectiveness, efficiency, quality of services, meeting client needs, and getting help. Efficiency and effectiveness were perceived by the respondents to be synonymous, as were service quality and effectiveness, as suggested by ORs > 10 when cross tabulated. Therefore, one or the other could be used in future studies but not both to avoid collinearity. The identified predictors could be targeted for improvement in quality of service delivery to livestock and poultry keepers in Ghana

Il faut changer de valeurs

La plupart des pays en développement ont connu et connaissent encore un mouvement de privatisation. Les États se désengagent des activités dont le marché peut s’occuper. Ce processus se fonde sur la conviction que les gouvernements ne doivent pas fournir ce que le secteur privé veut et peut produire lui-même. Ils ne devraient s’occuper que des biens et des services publics par nature, autrement dit ceux qui ne peuvent être ni produits ni distribués par le marché. Cette idée est à l’origine des mouvements de privatisation des services vétérinaires partout dans le monde. Au Ghana, depuis l’indépendance, l’État fournissait des services vétérinaires gratuitement ou à des prix subventionnés aux propriétaires d’animaux. Comme le gouvernement rencontrait des difficultés financières et budgétaires, des voix se sont élevées contre la poursuite de la gratuité et des subventions. D’autres, remarquant que la pléthore de personnel ne contribuait pas à des prestations de services de qualité, ont suggéré que certains employés du service public rejoignent le secteur privé afin d’alléger la charge de l’État. Un projet visant à la privatisation des services vétérinaires a donc été lancé en 1993, encourageant les vétérinaires à rejoindre le secteur privé. Toutefois, la privatisation ne peut réussir que si les propriétaires d’animaux acceptent de payer le plein coût des services de santé animale. Leur capacité de payer dépend fortement du dynamisme du marché du bétail, car les services vétérinaires doivent le plus souvent être payés en espèces et au comptant. Or, il n’y a pas, au Ghana, de structure bien définie de commercialisation du bétail. Producteurs et consommateurs sont donc à la merci des intermédiaires, qui cherchent à maximiser les profits en achetant les animaux à bas prix pour revendre la viande le plus cher possible. Aucune structure de régulation n’existe pour l’instant. Autrefois, l’État a créé un Office de la viande chargé d’acheter les animaux aux éleveurs, de les débiter et de vendre la viande aux consommateurs à un prix raisonnable. Mais cet Office a cessé de fonctionner, notamment parce qu’il n’était pas assez soutenu par les éleveurs. Ceux-ci n’étaient pas payés comptant, et seulement sur la base du poids de la carcasse, ce qui n’était pas attrayant. Les éleveurs ont continué à vendre leurs bêtes sur pied aux intermédiaires, afin d’être payés sur-le-champ. Des intermédiaires trop puissants Les intermédiaires — principalement des bouchers et des personnes influentes des communautés d’éleveurs — ont un monopole et peuvent fixer unilatéralement les prix d’achat et les prix de vente. Les éleveurs ne sont pas bien organisés et ne sont donc pas en position de défendre leurs intérêts face aux intermédiaires. Si cette situation demeure inchangée, les éleveurs continueront à être mal payés et n’auront pas les moyens de rétribuer les services des vétérinaires privés. La pratique libérale ne nourrissant pas son homme, les vétérinaires seront découragés de s’y adonner. Le système de valeurs des éleveurs est une autre caractéristique du marché qui fait obstacle à la privatisation. Les éleveurs préfèrent le nombre à la qualité. Ils rechignent à vendre leurs animaux, sauf quand ils ont absolument besoin d’argent, ou en cas de sécheresse ou de maladie. Cela a de graves conséquences. Quand les éleveurs vendent parce qu’ils ont besoin d’argent, ils sont prêts à accepter n’importe quel prix, même très en dessous du prix du marché. Ils vendent donc à perte. Mal rémunérés de leurs efforts, ils ont tendance à ne pas investir dans leurs bêtes. S’ils vendent leurs animaux quand ils sont mal nourris ou malades, ou en période de sécheresse, ils ne peuvent pas non plus en obtenir un bon prix. Il faut donc mettre en place un dispositif qui les aide à déterminer à quel moment vendre leurs animaux et comment les commercialiser. Rémunérer la qualité Afin de résoudre ces problèmes de structure du marché, il faudrait encourager les éleveurs à former des coopératives, mais sanscontrôle ni connotation politique. Ces coopératives pourraient fournir les intrants à meilleur marché (grâce aux économies d’échelle) et faciliter la commercialisation. Elles pourraient s’attacher des vétérinaires, à plein temps ou à temps partiel, ce qui contribuerait aux efforts de privatisation. Elles pourraient aussi faire pression pour que des règles équitables de commercialisation soient établies, principalement là où les monopoles sont le plus nombreux. Un autre moyen de stimuler la restructuration du marché serait d’introduire des primes à la qualité. Aujourd’hui, aucune modulation des prix n’encourage une production de meilleure qualité qui rapporterait davantage. Dès lors qu’ils sont rétribués correctement pour une production de qualité, les éleveurs seront plus enclins à faire appel aux services vétérinaires. Enfin, il faudrait éduquer les éleveurs pour qu’ils gardent les animaux de meilleure qualité plutôt qu’un grand nombre de têtes pour le prestige. Cela peut se faire via les associations de producteurs et le paiement de primes à la qualité. Il peut être aussi utile de travailler avec des sociologues et anthropologues ruraux pour faciliter cette évolution de la quantité vers la qualité. Nous croyons que tout cela aidera à privatiser progressivement les services vétérinaires. [caption] Dr Paa Kobina Turkson est maître de conférences et chef par intérim du département de zootechnie de l’École d’agronomie de l’Université de Cape Coast au Ghana. Il a consacré sa thèse de doctorat à la privatisation au Ghana et en Jamaïque. Les opinions exprimées dans ce Point de vue sont celles de l’auteur, et ne reflètent pas nécessairement les idées du CTA.La plupart des pays en développement ont connu et connaissent encore un mouvement de privatisation. Les États se désengagent des activités dont le marché peut s’occuper. Ce processus se fonde sur la conviction que les gouvernements ne doivent..

Differential translocation of Salmonella serovars to mesenteric lymph nodes of pigs

In observational studies of growing pigs in North Carolina, we cultured paired samples of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and cecal contents for Salmonella using standard methods for selective enrichment and plating. Apparent Salmonella prevalence was higher among cecal (39.2%) than MLN (20.5%) samples from the same animals. Salmonella Typhimurium var. Copenhagen (STC) and S. Derby comprised 84% of all isolates at slaughter. For these two serovars we found an association between serovar and sample type. The odds of isolating STC from MLN rather than cecum were 5.7 (95%CI 3.0 to 10.7) times higher than the odds for S. Derby. The odds for isolating STC from MLN versus cecum were 58 times higher for groups where STC had been isolated from the pigs on farm than for groups where it was had not been detected on farm. These findings suggest biological differences among common group B Salmonella serovars in the pig

Campylobacter spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica in Growing Pigs in Iowa and North Carolina: A Pilot Study

The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica was determined in cohorts of growing pigs on eight swine farms in Iowa and North Carolina. Approximately 60 pigs from each site were periodically sampled from the nursery to slaughter. Both all in/all out and continuous flow production systems were monitored. Overall, when results from the two states are combined, Campylobacter coli was found in the nursery (90%), grower (92.8%) and finisher (90.9%) stages. At slaughter, C. coli was detected overall on 17.1% of carcasses. For Iowa, 83% of ileocaecal lymph nodes yielded Campylobacter. In contrast, Y. enterocolitica was not found in either rectal or tonsilar swabs or in carcass swabs collected from Iowa hogs. Y. enterocolitica was detected in 8.8% (5 of 57) of North Carolina hogs sampled on one occasion; no isolations were made from carcass swabs at slaughter

The Prevalence of Food-borne Pathogenic Organisms in Swine and Pork: A Pilot Survey and Demonstration Project from Production Farm to Dressed Carcasses

This project was unable to demonstrate a protective effect of All in-All out (AIAO) over continuous flow production systems for swine from organisms of food safety interest at the abattoir. It provided valuable information about the ecology of Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica on farms and the abattoir. Implanted electronic microchips have been demonstrated as feasible for carcass identification from farm to abattoir cooler. Doubts about predictive values of commonly used detection procedures for on-farm prevalence of these organisms are raised. A new paradigm to explain the nexus of on-farm activities on the microbiologic status of pigs presented to the abattoir is advanced. These studies may substantially refocus farm to abattoir HACCP plans for microbial contamination.

We need better values

In many developing countries there has been, and still is, a strong move for the government to give up or reduce its involvement in ventures that the market can take care of. The ideological basis for this hinges on the belief that the government should not provide goods and services that the private sector is willing and able to provide. Rather, the government should be concerned with providing goods and services that are public in nature but have the potential for market failure. This has been behind the moves for privatisation of veterinary services all over the world. In Ghana, the government has been responsible for the provision of veterinary services to animal owners freely or at subsidised levels since independence. However, there have been arguments against continued free provision or subsidy because the government is facing budgetary and financial difficulties. Another argument is that over-employment is over-extending the ability of government to provide quality services, and that some of those employed by the government have to go into the private sector to ease the burden. A project to help privatise veterinary services was launched in 1993, encouraging veterinarians to go into private practice. However, one factor critical to the success of the privatisation effort is the willingness of livestock farmers or animal owners to pay the full cost for animal health services. Their willingness to pay is to a large extent influenced by the livestock market structure, since services have to be paid for with cash in most cases. There is, though, no well-defined livestock marketing structure in Ghana. Livestock producers and consumers are therefore at the mercy of middlemen whose aim is to maximise profits by buying animals cheaply and selling meat at high prices to consumers. No formal market structures exist at present. Sometime back, the government set up a Meat Marketing Board that was charged with buying livestock from farmers and processing the meat to sell at reasonably competitive prices. However, the Board is now defunct partly because of low farmer patronage. One reason was that farmers were not paid on time and payments were on a carcass weight basis, which was not attractive. The alternative was for livestock owners to sell on the hoof to middlemen for ready cash. Middlemen too dominant The middlemen they are mainly butchers and influential people from livestock producing communities have a monopoly and therefore dictate what to pay for animals and what the price of meat is. Livestock farmers are not well organised, and therefore lack strong bargaining power to deal with the hegemony of the middlemen. If the prevailing market structure is left to stand, livestock farmers will continue to receive low prices for their animals and will therefore not have the financial power to pay for services rendered by private veterinarians. The effect is that private practice will not be profitable and will thus discourage other veterinarians from going in. Another factor in the market structure with implications for privatisation of services is the value system of livestock owners. Farmers are more concerned about numbers than quality. They are reluctant to sell animals. Animals are therefore sold only when the farmers are in dire need of money or when there is drought or disease. This has serious implications. When animals are sold to get cash for a pressing need, farmers are willing to accept any price, sometimes well below the market value; they therefore lose substantially. Since they do not receive a fair price for their efforts, they tend to be unwilling to invest in their animals. The other implication is that when animals are sold during drought, or when they are in poor shape as a result of poor nutrition or disease, farmers are unable to demand good prices. There is therefore the need to put in place facilities to help farmers know when to cull animals and how to market their animals. Bring in premium prices To help solve the problems of the market structure, livestock farmers should be encouraged to form livestock producer cooperatives, without political prodding or control. These cooperatives can provide inputs more cheaply (on the basis of economies of scale) and also help in marketing. They could also retain veterinarians on a part-time or full-time basis, which could encourage the privatisation efforts. Such an association could also lobby for fair marketing legislation, especially where monopolies abound. Another recommendation for market restructuring is to introduce payment of premium prices for quality. At the moment there is no price differentiation to encourage production of quality goods that will fetch higher prices. There is an urgent need to restructure the market so that farmers will be paid for quality products and will be more willing to invest in their animals knowing that they will be rewarded with higher prices. Once they receive premium prices, they may be more willing to pay for services like health, knowing that they stand to benefit in the end. The last recommendation is to educate farmers on the need to keep quality animals instead of keeping large numbers for social prestige. This can be done through livestock producer associations and through premium pricing. It may be helpful to work with rural anthropologists/ sociologists to help redirect societal values from quantity to quality. These, it is believed, will help in privatisation of veterinary services in the long term. The opinions expressed in Viewpoint are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CTA.In many developing countries there has been, and still is, a strong move for the government to give up or reduce its involvement in ventures that the market can take care of. The ideological basis for this hinges on the belief that the government..

Analyses of Antimicrobial Use and Prescription Patterns in a Companion Animal Practice in Accra, Ghana, from 2015 to 2021

Abstract Introduction: The overuse, misuse, or abuse of antimicrobials in pets has the potential to result in antimicrobial resistance in pathogens of animal origin. There is a need for prudent use of antimicrobials to prevent this issue. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the trend of antimicrobial use in small animals at a veterinary practice in Accra, Ghana, over the period of 2015 to 2021. Materials and methods: Clinical records of 4324 animal patients presented to a veterinary hospital in Ghana that were given antimicrobials from September 2015 to December 2021 were analyzed for frequencies, proportions, and statistical differences. The gender of animals involved in this study were 53.1% males, 43.4% females, and 3.4% did not have the sex stated. The perceptions of antimicrobials by veterinarians and prescription patterns (to understand the basis for the prescription patterns) were considered in this study. Results: Antimicrobial use increased significantly from 56% in the first period (September 2015 to December 2017) to 75% in 2020, dropping to 59% in 2021. The prescription diversity was calculated to be 0.82. The most common indicator for antimicrobial use was a complex of symptoms and signs of anorexia-vomiting-diarrhea (27%). The number of antimicrobials prescribed per visit ranged from 1 to 5. The penicillin type (34%), tetracyclines (26.4%), sulphonamides (18.9%), and nitroimidazoles (10.6%) were the most used antimicrobial group. The routes and dosages administered were recorded in 70.3% and 92% of cases, respectively. The intramuscular route (54.5%) was the most preferred administration method by the clinicians. Notably, 95% of the veterinarians were neither aware of nor used any prescription guidance protocol in the small animal veterinary facility. Conclusion: Antimicrobials were used in high proportions in pets (mainly dogs) from 2015 to 2021. Penicillin, tetracyclines, and sulphonamides were more commonly used. Detailed information on antimicrobial prescriptions and use in a small animal veterinary practice setting in Ghana could provide valuable data for providing guidelines in antibacterial usage. https://saa.rovedar.com/index.php/SAA/article/view/1

Rabies in Ghana

The data covers information on knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices of rabies from respondents in the Western region of Ghana