Abstract
The study was carried out to assess the economic burden of trypanosomosis in three villages of the Metekel zone in 2009. The disease was found to cause substantial economic losses through cattle mortality, drug purchase, and draft power loss of infected oxen. The farmers in the area were spending a significantly (p < 0.05) higher amount of money for the treatment of trypanosomosis than all other diseases combined. The overall mortality rate of cattle due to trypanosomosis was 4.4%. The mortality was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in an area where trypanosomosis prevalence was also higher. Many of the farmers prioritized losses of draft power as the most important impact of the disease. The overall prevalence of the disease was 12.1%. The disease burden was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the rainy season than at other times of the year. In general, farmers had good knowledge on the signs and seasonality of trypanosomosis. Thus, tsetse suppression activities that involve the local community can be an important tool towards minimizing the economic burden of the disease in the area.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abebe, G., 2005. Trypanosomosis in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 4(1), 75–121
Baumgartner, J., Gilioli, G., Tikubet, G. and Gutierrez, A.. P., 2008. Eco-social analysis of an East African agro-pastoral system: management of tsetse and bovine trypanosomiasis. Ecological Economics, 65(1), 125–135
Bekele, J., Asmare, K., Abebe, G., Ayelet, G. and Esayas, G., 2010. Evaluation of Deltamethrin application in the control of tsetse and trypanosomosis in southern rift valley areas of Ethiopia. Veterinary Parasitology, 168, 177–184
Cherenet, T., Sani, R. A.., Panandam, J. M., Nadzr, S., Speybroeck, N. and Van den Bossche, P., 2004. Seasonal prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis in a tsetse-infested zone and a tsetse-free zone of the Amhara Region, north-west Ethiopia. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 71(4), 307–312
DFID, 2010. Department for International Development. Integrated vector management, controlling malaria and trypanosomiasis. Available at: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/SearchResearchDatabase.asp?ProjectID=3589. Accessed September 2011
FAO, 1998a. Food and Agriculture Organization, cost of trypanosomiasis, agriculture and customer protection department. Available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/spot1.htm. Accessed September 2011
FAO, 1998b. Food and Agriculture Organization, drug management and parasite resistance in bovine trypanosomiasis in Africa. Available at: http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/W9791E/W9791E00.HTM. Accessed September 2011
FAO/IFAH, 2008. Food and Agriculture Organization and International Federation for Animal Health. join forces to improve the quality of trypanosomiasis medicines in Africa
Geerts, S. and Holmes, P. H., 1998. Drug management and parasite resistance in bovine Trypanosomiasis in Africa. Programme against African Trypanosomiasis, Technical and Scientific Series 1. FAO, Rome.
Grace, D., Randolph, T., Affognon, H., Dramane, D., Diall, O. and Clausen, P. H., 2009. Characterisation and validation of farmers’ knowledge and practice of cattle trypanosomosis management in the cotton zone of West Africa. Acta Tropica, 111( 2), 137–143
Karanja, S. M., 1999. Epidemiology of bovine trypanosomosis in selected sites of the Southern Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Master thesis in tropical veterinary epidemiology. Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia
Kebede, N. and Animut, A., 2009. Trypanosomosis of cattle in selected districts of Awi zone, Northwestern Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 41(7), 1353–1356
Keno, M., 2005. International scientific council for trypanosomiasis research and control (ISCTRC), the current situation of tsetse and trypanosomosis in Ethiopia. Twenty eighth meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Lemecha, H., Mulatu, W., Hussein, I., Rege, E., Tekle, T., Abdicho, S. and Ayalew, W., 2006. Response of four indigenous cattle breeds to natural tsetse and trypanosomosis challenge in the Ghibe valley of Ethiopia. Veterinary Parasitology, 141(1–2), 165–176
Mekuria, S. and Gadissa, F., 2011. Survey on bovine trypanosomosis and its vector in Metekel and Awi zone of Northwest Ethiopia. Acta Tropica, 117(2), 146–151
Murray, M., Murray, P. K. and McIntyre, W. I., 1977. An improved parasitological technique for the diagnosis of African trypanosomiasis. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 71(4), 325–326
MZDA, 2008. Metekel zone Department of Agriculture, Benshangul Gumuze Regional State, regional statistics abstract
OIE, 2008. Trypanosomosis (tsetse-transmitted). Terrestrial manual. Available at: http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahm/2.04.18_TRYPANOSOMOSIS.pdf. Accessed September 2011
Oluwafemi, R. A., Laseinde, E. A. O. and Ilemobade, A. A.., 2007. The impact of African animal trypanosomosis and tsetse on the livelihood and well-being of cattle and their owners in the BICOT study area of Nigeria. Scientific Research and Essay, 2(9), 380–383
PATTEC, 2001. Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC), plan of action. Organization of African unity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 2001
Riedel, S., Wollny, C., Ayalew, W. and Ayanna, T., 2007. Participatory assessment of incidence and perception of bovine trypanosomosis by cattle farmers in Dano, Western Ethiopia Conference on international agricultural research for development, University of Kassel, Germany
SPSS, 2001. SPSS for Windows, rel. 11.0.1. 2001. SPSS Inc., Chicago
StataCorp, 2009. Stata Statistical Software, release 11. StataCorp LP, College Station, TX
Stein, J., Ayalew, W., Rege, E., Mulatu, W., Lemecha, H., Tadesse, Y., Tekle, T. and Philipsson, J., 2011. Trypanosomosis and phenotypic features of four indigenous cattle breed in an Ethiopian field study. Veterinary Parasitology, 178(1–2), 40–47
Swallow, B. M., 1999. International Livestock Research Institute. Impacts of trypanosomiasis on African agriculture
Tadesse, A. and Tsegaye, B., 2010. Bovine trypanosomosis and its vector in two districts of Bench Maji Zone, south western Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 42, 1757–1762
Tesfaye, D., 2010. Epidemiological and economic impact study of bovine trypanosomosis in Metekel zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Master thesis in Tropical Animal Health, Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Uilenberg, G., 1998. A field guide for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of African animal trypanosomosis. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome
Van den Bossche, P., Doran, M. and Connor, R. J., 2000. An analysis of trypanocidal drug use in the Eastern Province of Zambia. Acta Tropica 75 (2), 247–258
Van den Bossche, P., Thys, E., Elyn, R., Marcotty, T. and Geerts, S., 2004. The provision of animal health care to smallholder in Africa: an analytical approach. Revue Scientific et Technique Office International des Epizooties, 23(3), 851–861
Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research for funding the project. Dr. Yosef Shiferaw and Dr. Gebrerufael Girmay are also highly acknowledged for their support during the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tesfaye, D., Speybroeck, N., De Deken, R. et al. Economic burden of bovine trypanosomosis in three villages of Metekel zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Trop Anim Health Prod 44, 873–879 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-9981-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-9981-3