Project 11: Improved animal health systems for control of zoonoses
Department of Clinical Sciences
Popular summary
In several of the former low income Soviet union republic have many of the large state or collective agricultural operations been replaced by smaller family owned units. At the same time have often the governmental public veterinary service deterioted because of poor funding leading to weak animal health systems. This in turn, has increased the risk for contagious diseases such as zoonoses in small scale family farms with livestock. SLU has together with other Swedish veterinary expert agencies been running a project in Tajikistan aiming to improve the efficiency of the public veterinary system and increase the knowledge about contagious livestock diseases among governmental veterinarians and university teachers.
In Tajikistan is the zoonosis brucellosis (caused by the bacteria Brucella) identified as a severe problem by the veterinary authorities and FAO; and vaccination campaigns has been conducted in rural areas. The current project has as the overall aim to reduce the risk of the spread of brucellosis within urban and periurban farming. This type of farming is a market driven farming practice that contributes to improved food security in cities and increased incomes for households with livestock. We will investigate the presence of Brucella-infection among ruminants in and around the capital Dushanbe, possible routes of transmission to the animals and from the animals to humans as well as the farmers knowledge and attitudes to the disease. The project is performed in close cooperation with colleagues at Tajik Agrarian University and will transfer competence about modern disease control and biosecurity contributing to improved animal health systems.