Report on The Participatory Epidemiological Investigation of FMD in Erzurum Province Support of the training of veterinary officers in the participatory epidemiological investigation of FMD in Erzurum Province 1200000 1000000 800000 Vaccinations 600000 Population 400000 200000 0 Year 2003 Year 2004 Year 2005 PART TWO Consultant’s End of Assignment Report Berhanu Admassu Addis Ababa November 2005 1 Content Page 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 3 2. Objectives: ...................................................................................................................... 3 3. Study structure and Methodology................................................................................... 4 4. Results............................................................................................................................. 6 4.1. General disease ranking ........................................................................................... 6 4.2. Recent FMD outbreaks history................................................................................ 8 4.3. Incidence and mortality.......................................................................................... 11 4.4. Age groups affected ............................................................................................... 12 4.5. Sources of FMD outbreaks .................................................................................... 13 4.6. Spatial and seasonal Factors .................................................................................. 16 4.7. Livestock movement to and from market .............................................................. 17 4.8. Vaccination history................................................................................................ 20 5. Summary and Conclusion............................................................................................. 24 6. Annexes......................................................................................................................... 27 2 1. Introduction The province of Erzurum in eastern Anatolia exhibits one of the highest incidences of FMD in Turkey. Previous EUFMD-FAO work with the General Directorate of Protection and Control (GDPC), Turkey, has illustrated the difficulties of FMD control in this region and identified a number of uncertainties in the epidemiology of the disease which if resolved might improve the targeting of control measures. The principle of a longitudinal study to identify the spread of infection in space and time was discussed with GDPC in November 2004 (in Ankara) and in April 2005 (in Rome). The EUFMD Commission conducted a mission to Erzurum in June 2005 which concluded that a rapid epidemiological survey of FMD could proceed in summer 2005. The purpose of the activities is to gain information on the incidence and distribution of FMD in the province, and on the patterns of disease incidence and spread. In doing so, the FAO consultant conducted a mission to Erzurum Province in July 2005 and trained veterinarians in participatory methods and techniques of disease investigation to undertake PE studies to identify key features of FMD epidemiology in Erzurum province. After the training a province wide epidemiological appraisal of current FMD situation and recent FMD history and community experience was conducted. This report is therefore reviews the findings of the participatory epidemiological studies into the epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease in Erzurum Province conducted in August-September 2005. Description of the study area Erzurum is the largest province in Eastern Anatolia and is located on a high plateau. The majority of the province is elevated. Depression plains are located between the mountains and plateaus. The province has a long and harsh winters, and short and mild summers. It is snow covered from November to April. The province of Erzurum has a population of about one million people. The largest city Erzurum has a population of about 400,000. For administrative purposes the province is divided into 18 districts which are subdivided into villages. Each district has its Director of Agriculture while each village has its Headman (Muhtar) with important authority in administration at village level. Erzurum has the highest ratio of meadows and pastures in Turkey, ideal for stockbreeding. The livestock population of the province is Cattle are the most common livestock in Erzurum. There are about 500,000 cattle in the province. The structure of Agriculture is based on communal grazing by all livestock in individual villages. All the animals owned by different farmers share grazing land. The province of Erzurum is a province with one of the highest incidences of FMD in Turkey. 2. Objectives: to gain information on the incidence and distribution of FMD in Erzurum Province and on patterns of disease incidence and spread through province wide epidemiological 3 investigation. In addition, the study sought to collect information on the recent history of FMD circulation and community experience, through the process of participatory disease investigation methods in randomly selected villages from each district. 3. Study structure and Methodology In this investigation villages are chosen as a basic unit of interest. This will make an easy, faster and cheaper collection of reliable information about the epidemiology of FMD at village level. The study technique is based on selection of villages from each district by simple random selection. Each selected village is visited by a survey team, and a group interview conducted. Once the participatory epidemiological investigation team reaches the selected village, the selection of informants within the village was not at random. The choice of respondents will be on the basis of whom in the village can provide complete and reliable information about the study unit. The interview was carried out with 6-10 livestock owners selected from each village. The interview was based on their indigenous knowledge, perception and the views of interviewee were ascertained. In addition at each village the interviewers were identified informants who were thought by the local community to possess particular knowledge of practices and these key informants includes the village headman (Muhtar). The Muhtar is the democratically elected leader/representative of the village. For the reason of increasing the precision and variability of the information collected from villagers and to increase the sensitivity of the investigation methods a 99% Cl was used to determine the sample size of the study. Therefore a sample of 98 villages was chosen by simple random sampling from all the villages in 18 districts (N=1050). The sampling frame used was based on up-to-date village lists obtained from the Veterinary Control and Research Institute (VCRI). Study Methods Participatory methods were used to collect all the required data and information. These methods were semi-structured interviews (SSI), used throughout the investigations; specifically these interviews were used to collect general background information on local perceptions of the most important cattle diseases. Interviews were also used extensively in connection with other participatory epidemiology methods such as matrix scoring, proportional piling, seasonal calendars and participatory mapping. Study team composition and schedule The survey team contained six veterinarians, who had previously been trained in participatory approach and methods and had experience of using the methods in the field. These investigators were selected from the provincial veterinary service and from the veterinary control and research institute. The investigators were received a ten days PE training. After the training they were practiced in three villages of Erzurum district for 3 days as pre-test and made discussions on the responses in order to develop experience and skill for the main practical fieldwork. 4 The PE disease investigation was started on 8 th , August 2005 and completed on 20 th September 2005. A total of 670 community informants participated in the PE disease investigation. Map 1. Study area and randomly selected villages Data 5 4. Results 4.1. General disease ranking Informal semi-structured interviews were used to collect general background information on local perceptions of the most important cattle diseases. These interviews were based on probing open questions designed to cross check information. The respondents were requested to list the major diseases of cattle and then, to describe the clinical, epidemiological and gross pathological picture for each disease comprehensively. The diseases mentioned were then listed and the respondents were requested to rank them in order of frequency of occurrence and economical importance. The most common cattle disease terms mentioned in all 98 villages is presented in Table 1. Many other disease terms were mentioned but were not explored in detail. The discussions have revealed that cattle owners were able to accurately describe and rank cattle diseases based on the frequency of occurrence of the disease. Informants were asked the name by which these diseases are usually called in the village. The local name of these diseases is shown on Table1. Informants from all villages referred to FMD with the local term " Dabak " and the typical signs of FMD were also consistently described as shown on Table