Focus on . . . Livestock Health (part 2)
In this edition we complete our two-part focus on livestock health. From the impacts of livestock on human health, the provision of livestock services to the poor and the ability to provide techniques and technologies that are appropriate for use by small-scale farmers, these articles cover a selection of the most recent news and research and policy developments associated with improving the wellbeing of both livestock and those dependent on them. Your comments on these articles or suggestions for future coverage in this field are welcome.
What, if anything, can be done to improve livestock veterinary services to the rural poor? Peri-urban livestock owners usually have access to reasonable services at a reasonable cost and, because they...
A chronic wasting disease, which affects cattle in southern Sudan, has recently been investigated and clarified through the use of participatory methods. The disease, known as liei, causes...
Africa's genetic solution to intestinal worms
The 'Red Maasai' a type of sheep bred in Africa's Great Rift Valley for over five hundred years, has been found to be genetically resistant to intestinal worms. Geneticists working in the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi believe...
A woman lies dying in a small rural village in southeast Uganda. Her family does not want to talk about it and they seek no treatment for her. They believe she has AIDS. But Uganda is the one country in sub-Saharan Africa where...
Outbreaks of anthrax have become an annual occurrence in Zambia. Since 1990 when the disease was identified in Western Zambia, hundreds of animals and people have died. A large-scale...
A handheld solution to a hidden problem?
In a roughly constructed pen in a remote village, a farmer inspects his cow. The animal has lost weight, is off its food and is coughing. The farmer knows the animal is sick but just how sick is it? And, if ...
Quality Assurance is key to economic prosperity
Maximising exports and minimising imports is a key to economic prosperity but quality assurance (QA) is rapidly becoming the battleground on which the...
