| 1. |
- Chenais, Erika
(författare)
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African swine fever in Uganda : epidemiology and socio-economic impact in the smallholder setting
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the last decade millions of people have been able to leave poverty, increasing the regional demand for meat and livestock products. In combination with reforms in market and agricultural policy, this has led to an increase in pig production in sub-Saharan Africa, most notably in Uganda. The growing pig sector could be an important contributor to poverty reduction among smallholder pig keepers. However, the growing pig population has been followed by an increase in African swine fever (ASF) incidence. ASF is a contagious, typically very lethal, haemorrhagic, viral disease of domestic pigs. The overall goal of this doctoral project was to develop the understanding of ASF epidemiology in the smallholder setting in Uganda. Four studies were conducted in two districts in northern Uganda among smallholder farmers, other pig production value-chain actors, and a medium-sized farm. The studies included group- and individual interviews as well as biological and environmental sampling and testing for the virus. Data were analysed using semi-qualitative and quantitative methods. The thesis concluded that ASF was endemic in the study area, and that outbreaks could be detected using retrospective and real-time farmer reports. ASF outbreaks were associated with activities of humans, such as trade in pigs and pig products and free-range management systems. ASF outbreaks had long-term negative social and economic impact for pig production value-chain actors on all investigated levels in the value chain. For smallholder farmers, the impact was aggravated with increasing herd size. Trade and consumption of sick and dead pigs were commonly used as coping strategies. Farm-level biosecurity was insufficient for ASF protection and awareness of control methods did not guarantee their implementation. The continuous ASF transmission in the study area was not driven by lack of knowledge, but rather by cultural circumstances, taboos and poverty. Therefore, in order for control methods to be successfully and sustainably implemented, they need to be developed in participation with the communities, adapted to the local context, socially acceptable, flexible, and cost-effective.
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| 2. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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African swine fever in Uganda: qualitative evaluation of three surveillance methods with implications for other resource-poor settings
- 2015
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-1769. ; 2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal diseases impact negatively on households and on national economies. In low-income countries, this pertains especially to socio-economic effects on household level. To control animal diseases and mitigate their impact, it is necessary to understand the epidemiology of the disease in its local context. Such understanding, gained through disease surveillance, is often lacking in resource-poor settings. Alternative surveillance methods have been developed to overcome some of the hurdles obstructing surveillance. The objective of this study was to evaluate and qualitatively compare three methods for surveillance of acute infectious diseases using African swine fever in northern Uganda as an example. Report-driven outbreak investigations, participatory rural appraisals (PRAs), and a household survey using a smartphone application were evaluated. All three methods had good disease-detecting capacity, and each of them detected many more outbreaks compared to those reported to the World Organization for Animal Health during the same time period. Apparent mortality rates were similar for the three methods although highest for the report-driven outbreak investigations, followed by the PRAs, and then the household survey. The three methods have different characteristics and the method of choice will depend on the surveillance objective. The optimal situation might be achieved by a combination of the methods: outbreak detection via smartphone-based real-time surveillance, outbreak investigation for collection of biological samples, and a PRA for a better understanding of the epidemiology of the specific outbreak. All three methods require initial investments and continuous efforts. The sustainability of the surveillance system should, therefore, be carefully evaluated before making such investments.
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| 3. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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African swine fever outbreak on a medium-sized farm in Uganda: biosecurity breaches and within-farm virus contamination.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Tropical Animal Health and Production. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0049-4747 .- 1573-7438. ; 49, s. 337-346
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Uganda, a low-income country in east Africa, African swine fever (ASF) is endemic with yearly outbreaks. In the prevailing smallholder subsistence farming systems, farm biosecurity is largely non-existent. Outbreaks of ASF, particularly in smallholder farms, often go unreported, creating significant epidemiological knowledge gaps. The continuous circulation of ASF in smallholder settings also creates biosecurity challenges for larger farms. In this study, an on-going outbreak of ASF in an endemic area was investigated on farm level, including analyses of on-farm environmental virus contamination. The study was carried out on a medium-sized pig farm with 35 adult pigs and 103 piglets or growers at the onset of the outbreak. Within 3 months, all pigs had died or were slaughtered. The study included interviews with farm representatives as well as biological and environmental sampling. ASF was confirmed by the presence of ASF virus (ASFV) genomic material in biological (blood, serum) and environmental (soil, water, feed, manure) samples by real-time PCR. The ASFV-positive biological samples confirmed the clinical assessment and were consistent with known virus characteristics. Most environmental samples were found to be positive. Assessment of farm biosecurity, interviews, and the results from the biological and environmental samples revealed that breaches and non-compliance with biosecurity protocols most likely led to the introduction and within-farm spread of the virus. The information derived from this study provides valuable insight regarding the implementation of biosecurity measures, particularly in endemic areas.
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| 4. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Co-created community contracts support biosecurity changes in a region where African swine fever is endemic – Part I: The methodology
- 2023
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Ingår i: Preventive Veterinary Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5877 .- 1873-1716. ; 212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Northern Uganda more people live in poverty than elsewhere in the country. Small-scale pig-keeping is common and African swine fever (ASF) is endemic, spreading along the smallholder value chain. Biosecurity measures remain the only way to prevent and control the spread of ASF in this context. Previous research in the study area has shown that many stakeholders are aware of ASF, how it is spread and methods for prevention and control, but biosecurity implementation remains limited. Participatory approaches have been suggested in order to increase community engagement in relation to animal disease control, ensuring that disease prevention or control actions are guided by local people’s priorities and the promotion of local ownership of disease control. The objective of this study was to investigate the capacity of participatory action at community level with a broad inclusion of stakeholders to initiate change and greater stakeholder ownership to improve biosecurity in the smallholder pig value chain. Specific attention was paid to the feasibility of co-created community contracts for this purpose. The study was carried out in Northern Uganda in six purposively selected villages and included both farmers and traders. Centred on co-created community contracts on biosecurity, the study comprised repeated group discussions, semi-structured and structured group and individual interviews, as well as field observations. At the first meeting, participants were presented with suggested biosecurity measures adapted for farmers and traders respectively. Participants discussed each measure, agreed which ones to implement for one year, and co-created a community contract to this effect. During the study period, repeated interviews were undertaken and implementation support was provided. Interview data was coded and thematically analysed. Great diversity was observed between communities with regard to which and how many measures were selected, illustrating heterogeneity in the possibilities of biosecurity implementation and the complexity of livelihood challenges. The methodology appeared to be effective at instigating change, with all the communities changing some of their biosecurity behaviour during the study period. The intensified communication and cooperation around pigs in the communities reinforced the sense of group identity and the capacity-building offered at the first meeting supported implementation and appeared to be more important than the physical contract. Participants reported feeling empowered and described how they shared their knowledge, educated their peers and acted as catalysts for wider biosecurity change in their communities. These are promising results and indicate a positive attitude to both the agreed measures and the methodology.
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| 5. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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First Outbreak of African Swine Fever in Sweden: Local Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Eradication Strategies
- 2024
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Ingår i: Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. - 1865-1674 .- 1865-1682. ; 2024
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first case of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed in Sweden in September 2023. This article describes the local epidemiology, including the spatiotemporal dynamics of the outbreak and some of the factors that may have contributed to its apparently successful eradication. Upon detection of the outbreak, strict control measures were put in place in a preliminarily defined infected zone. A carcass search, including geo-localisation, removal, sampling, and destruction of found carcasses, was initiated and a preliminary core area was defined based on the results. Six months after confirmation of the first case, 93 wild boar carcasses had been found in the infected zone, of which 62 tested positive for ASF virus (ASFV). All ASFV-positive carcasses were found inside the core area. Based on two taphonomy methods, it was assumed that the infection was introduced between early May and late June 2023. The data also indicated that the epidemic curve peaked between mid-August and mid-September, with the last death occurring in late September 2023. Based on the average estimated time of death, geo-localisation of carcasses and two-dimensional kernel density estimation, clustering in space and time was identified. An online questionnaire with questions about hunting and the wild boar population was sent to all leaders of hunting groups in the infected zone. The results showed that the wild boar population had increased in the last 10 years but with large variations and geographical heterogeneity in space use. Disease introduction through natural wild boar movements was excluded and it was assumed that the long-distance translocation of the virus had occurred through human activities. A municipal waste collection centre without wild boar-proof fencing is located close to the epicentre of the outbreak, attracting many wild boar and contributing to the spread of the virus once it had been introduced to the population.
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| 6. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to African Swine Fever Within Smallholder Pig Production in Northern Uganda
- 2017
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Ingår i: Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1865-1674 .- 1865-1682. ; 64, s. 101-115
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Uganda is a low-income country with the largest pig population in East Africa. Pig keeping has a large potential, commercially and as a tool for poverty reduction, but African swine fever (ASF) is a major hurdle for development of the sector. The objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices related to ASF in the smallholder pig production value chain in northern Uganda. The study included three separate series of participatory rural appraisals (PRA), comprising purposively selected farmers and other actors in the pig production value chain. In the PRAs, various participatory epidemiology tools were used. A total of 49 PRAs and 574 participants, representing 64 different villages, were included. The results indicate that participants were well aware of the clinical signs of ASF, routes for disease spread and measures for disease control. However, awareness of the control measures did not guarantee their implementation. A majority of middlemen and butchers acknowledged having sold live pigs, carcasses or pork they believed infected with ASF. Outbreaks of ASF had a strong negative impact on participants' socio-economic status with loss of revenue and reversal into more severe poverty. In conclusion, lack of knowledge is not what is driving the continuous circulation of ASF virus in this setting. To control ASF and reduce its impact, initiatives that stimulate changes in management are needed. Because the behaviour of all actors in the value chain is largely influenced by the deep rural poverty in the region, this needs to be combined with efforts to reduce rural poverty.
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| 7. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptions of pastoralist problems : A participatory study on animal management, disease spectrum and animal health priorities of small ruminant pastoralists in Georgia
- 2021
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Ingår i: Preventive Veterinary Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 0167-5877 .- 1873-1716. ; 193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small ruminants support the livelihoods of millions of poor pastoralist and sedentary households around the world. While pastoralists are generally not amongst the poorest in terms of assets, they are frequently marginalised in terms of their access to political power, health and education. This study was undertaken among pastoralist households keeping small ruminants in four regions of the country of Georgia. Small ruminants are an important cultural, social and economic asset in Georgia and are mainly managed in a transhumant pastoralist system. Georgia suffered its first, and so far only outbreak of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in 2016. This qualitative interview study was designed to acquire contextual understanding of local small ruminant husbandry and the livelihood situations of the participating pastoralists, and to detect historical, unreported PPR outbreaks. Focus group discussions comprising participatory epidemiology tools and other forms of interviews were used to explore small ruminant management, disease spectrum and management, and animal health priorities. The participants had experienced a wide variety of animal health constraints, with intestinal worms, braxy, piroplasmosis, pasture-related problems, predators and lameness emerging as priorities. No historic, unreported PPR outbreak was detected in this study, and PPR was not a priority for participants. Instead, the day-to-day reality of animal health for the pastoralists was characterised by co-infections of mainly endemic pathogens, and problems related to other challenges such as access to land, feed and genetic resources. The rationale behind the participants' prioritisation of animal health problems was supported by the need to pay extra attention to animals in order to avoid risk factors, keep animals healthy and minimise the negative impact of diseases or management problems; the various epidemiological and clinical parameters of the prioritised diseases; the economic impact of the specific problems and the zoonotic potential of diseases and predation. Even within regions, and within seemingly socially and culturally homogenous groups, there were important local differences in the problems faced by pastoralists that affect their livestock management. This study underlines the importance of a contextualised understanding of the local disease panorama and complexities in the livelihood situations of rural people when designing actions to improve animal health in general or, more specifically, passive surveillance as well as prevention or control measures. Finally, it is concluded that to achieve such an understanding, there is a need for participatory, scoping-style studies that specifically acknowledge diversity and power relations.
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| 8. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Quantitative assessment of social and economic impact of African swine fever outbreaks in northern Uganda
- 2017
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Ingår i: Preventive Veterinary Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5877 .- 1873-1716. ; 144, s. 134-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important pig diseases, causing high case fatality rate and trade restrictions upon reported outbreaks. In Uganda, a low-income country with the largest pig population in East Africa, ASF is endemic.Animal disease impact is multidimensional and include social and economic impact along the value chain. In low-income settings, this impact keep people poor and push those that have managed to escape poverty back again. If the diseases can be controlled, their negative consequences can be mitigated. However, to successfully argue for investment in disease control, its cost-benefits need to be demonstrated. One part in the cost-benefit equations is disease impact quantification. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the socio-economic impact of ASF outbreaks at household level in northern Uganda.In a longitudinal study, structured interviews with two hundred, randomly selected, pig-keeping households were undertaken three times with a six month interval. Questions related to family and pig herd demographics, pig trade and pig business.Associations between ASF outbreaks and economic and social impact variables were evaluated using linear regression models. The study showed that pigs were kept in extreme low-input-low-output farming systems involving only small monetary investments. Yearly incidence of ASF on household level was 19%. Increasing herd size was positively associated with higher economic output. The interaction between ASF outbreaks and the herd size showed that ASF outbreaks were negatively associated with economic output at the second interview occasion and with one out of two economic impact variables at the third interview occasion. No significant associations between the social impact variables included in the study and ASF outbreaks could be established. Trade and consumption of sick and dead pigs were coping strategies used to minimize losses of capital and animal protein.The results indicate that causality of social and economic impact of ASF outbreaks in smallholder systems is complex. Pigs are mostly kept as passive investments rather than active working capital, complicating economic analyses and further disqualifying disease control arguments based only on standard economic models. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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| 9. |
- Chenais, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Wild and Domestic Pig Interactions at the Wildlife-Livestock Interface of Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, and the Potential Association with African Swine Fever Outbreaks
- 2016
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-1769. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bushpigs (BPs) (Potamochoerus larvatus) and warthogs (WHs) (Phacochoerus africanus), which are widely distributed in Eastern Africa, are likely to cohabitate in the same environment with domestic pigs (DPs), facilitating the transmission of shared pathogens. However, potential interactions between BP, WH, and DP, and the resulting potential circulation of infectious diseases have rarely been investigated in Africa to date. In order to understand the dynamics of such interactions and the potential influence of human behavior and husbandry practices on them, individual interviews (n = 233) and participatory rural appraisals (n = 11) were carried out among Ugandan pig farmers at the edge of Murchison Falls National Park, northern Uganda. In addition, as an example of possible implications of wild and DP interactions, non-linear multivariate analysis (multiple correspondence analyses) was used to investigate the potential association between the aforementioned factors (interactions and human behavior and practices) and farmer reported African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks. No direct interactions between wild pigs (WPs) and DP were reported in our study area. However, indirect interactions were described by 83 (35.6%) of the participants and were identified to be more common at water sources during the dry season. Equally, eight (3.4%) farmers declared exposing their DP to raw hunting leftovers of WPs. The exploratory analysis performed suggested possible associations between the farmer reported ASF outbreaks and indirect interactions, free-range housing systems, dry season, and having a WH burrow less than 3 km from the household. Our study was useful to gather local knowledge and to identify knowledge gaps about potential interactions between wild and DP in this area. This information could be useful to facilitate the design of future observational studies to better understand the potential transmission of pathogens between wild and DPs.
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| 10. |
- Fischer, Klara, et al.
(författare)
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Where is the Participation in Participatory Epidemiology? How Engagement with Social Science could lead to Improved Understanding and Control of Peste des Petits Ruminants.
- 2016
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Ingår i: British Journal of Virology. - : ResearchersLinks Ltd. - 2055-6128. ; 3, s. 105-114
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peste des Petits ruminants (PPR) is a potentially lethal, highly contagious viral disease of sheep and goats. Domestic sheep and goats are important species for the livelihoods of poor people in many developing countries. Within societies where PPR is now spreading, poverty is widespread and the disease is expected to have significant negative impacts on livelihoods. In resource-constrained marginalised societies, it is often difficult to collect disease data in conventional ways. Participatory epidemiology (PE) has been suggested as a particularly suitable research method to study epidemiology and social impacts of diseases in these contexts. However, for PE to achieve its full potential, stronger efforts to achieve true participation and to incorporate lessons about participation and power from the social sciences may be required. This review shows that social science engagement in PE to date is virtually non-existent, but that increased efforts to draw lessons from the social sciences and to increase the degree of participation in PE could increase its potential as an important tool in disease impact assessment and control. Particular attention is paid here to the potential role of PE in future research on the epidemiology and control of PPR.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
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