Available online 23 March 2015
Participatory appraisal of the impact of Epizootic Lympangitis in Ethiopia
Highlights
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- Epizootic Lymphangitis (EZL), a neglected equine disease, impacts human livelihoods.
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- Conducted a participatory study of horse owners’ experiences of EZL in Ethiopia.
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- Identified uncertainty around early recognition and control of EZL.
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- Practical and sustainable disease control strategies required in endemic regions.
Abstract
Epizootic
Lymphangitis (EZL) is reported to have a significant impact upon
livelihoods within resource-poor settings. This study used a
participatory approach to explore peoples’ experiences of EZL and
examine the perceived impact of disease, owner knowledge and
understanding of EZL, lay management of disease and, attitudes and
strategies towards disease prevention.
Focus-group
discussions were held with 358 cart-horse owners and drivers recruited
from 7 towns attended by SPANA (Society for the protection of animals
abroad) mobile veterinary clinics and 2 unexposed towns where no SPANA
clinics were available. Focus group discussions explored four main
research questions: 1) Is EZL recognised by animal owners, and is this
considered an important disease in equids? 2) What factors do animal
owners associate with the development of disease? 3) What happens to an
animal with clinical disease and how does this impact upon the
owner/community? 4) Are measures taken to reduce disease occurrence?
These key areas were explored using photographs, disease ranking,
matrices and open discussion. Data were analysed using descriptive
statistics and thematic analysis.
The results are
presented thematically and include; recognition and descriptions of EZL,
treatment strategies used, disease priorities and ranking, impact of
disease, disease transmission and attitudes and approaches to disease
prevention.
EZL was widely recognised and ranked
highly as an important disease of equids. However, there was uncertainty
around identifying early cases of EZL, and this could impact upon the
timing of initiating treatment and separating potentially infectious
animals. People had varying knowledge of effective methods for disease
prevention and reported particular difficulties with isolating infected
animals.
The impact of EZL was multi-dimensional and
encompassed effects upon the horse, the individual owner and the wider
society. Working equids provide a vital utility and source of income to
many people in resource-poor settings. Often, infection with EZL
resulted in a reduction in working ability which had a direct impact
upon the livelihoods of owners and their dependent family members. EZL
also impacted upon the welfare of the horse as sick animals continued to
be worked and, in advanced cases, horses were abandoned due to
ineffective or unavailable treatment.
This study
conceptualises the importance of EZL due to the effects of the disease
on the horse and its impact upon human livelihoods. Epizootic
Lymphangitis is a neglected disease that requires further investigation
in order to develop practical and sustainable disease control strategies
within endemic regions.
Keywords
- Epizootic Lymphangitis;
- Working equids;
- Participatory research;
- Qualitative analysis;
- Disease prevention;
- Resource-poor settings
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +0151 795 6011.
- 1
- Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) Addis Ababa.
- 2
- Tel.:
+44 0 20 7831 3999K. Reed current contact is at The Brooke UK.
Copyright © 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.
