Tracking transboundary diseases in small ruminants in the border region Tanzania-Zambia : a minor field study focusing on Peste des petits ruminants and Foot-and-mouth disease

Abstract: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and Foot and mouth disease (FMD) are two infectious diseases of major socioeconomic impact. The devastating effects of these diseases are mostly seen in developing countries, such as Tanzania, where small ruminants play an important role in livelihood resilience and are a major source of income. Sheep and goats are relatively cheap to buy and easy to trade and are in many contexts an insurance for the farmers and a valuable resource. There are many households in the world that are completely dependent on small ruminants to feed their families and diseases like PPR and FMD can completely ruin them. PPR is a contagious viral disease that affects small ruminants such as goats and sheep in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. The disease is caused by peste des petits ruminants virus. It is closely related to other significant viral pathogens such as rinderpest virus, which was eradicated in 2011. PPR has now been targeted by OIE and FAO and they have announced a program to eradicate it by 2030. Foot- and mouth disease (FMD) is a severe highly transmissible viral disease that is caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and affects cloven-hoof animals. The importance of FMD is significant and is generally ranked as one of top three high impact diseases by farmers in Tanzania. This study investigated the seroprevalence of PPR and FMD in two districts (Momba and Tunduma) in Southern Tanzania, close to the Zambia border. The total seroprevalence on individual level was 2.9% for PPR and 16.9% for FMD. A total of 491 samples were taken from 164 households and 41 villages. Tunduma district, which contains two major transportation routes and Tunduma town, which is the bordering city to Zambia, had a significantly higher seroprevalence for FMD compared to Momba district, which is positioned further away from the main roads. Possible risk factors were assessed with the help of a questionnaire that was administered to farmers of each investigated herd. All farmers interviewed utilized communal grazing where their animals could be in daily contact with other sheep and goats. After acquiring new animals, 96% of farmers let them mix with their original herd immediately. A significantly higher seroprevalence for FMD could be seen in farmers who bought animals outside of their home district compared to those who only bought from within his or her home district. No farmer reported that they ever bought animals from Zambia. Regarding vaccination, 4% of farmers interviewed vaccinated their animals. No one kept their sick animals separated from the rest of the herd after acquiring new animals. This study thus confirms the presence of antibodies against PPRV and FMDV in sheep and goats in Tunduma and Momba district. Presence of PPR in these bordering districts to Zambia, strengthens the concern of further spread of PPR into Zambia, even though there seems to have been no or only limited circulation of PPR during the last year. Age was identified as risk factor for being seropositive for both diseases. Being a sheep along with closeness to main roads were also identified as possible risk factors for being seropositive for FMD. No significant difference regarding seroprevalence could be seen between sexes on either disease. Findings in this study also revealed a continued poor knowledge on biosecurity among farmers.