Epidemiology and community knowledge, attitude and practice towards lumpy skin disease in Tanga and Pwani Regions inTanzania
| dc.contributor.author | Makoga, Fredy | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-01-22T17:12:33Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-01-22T17:12:33Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.description | Dissertation | |
| dc.description.abstract | Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an important viral disease of cattle and water buffalo affecting animals of all breeds and all ages. LSD was first reported in Zambia in 1929, with the first report of outbreak in Tanzania in 1981 and 1986 and considered endemic in many sub-Saharan countries. Presently, the disease is among global threat to the cattle industry due to its rapid spread beyond Africa and having very high morbidity and is therefore, one of the WOAH listed notifiable transboundary disease. Despite, the high morbidity and associated economic losses, scientific information on LSD in Tanzania remains scarce. The current study aimed to generate information on the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with lumpy skin disease and to assess the community knowledge, altitude and practice (KAP) towards LSD. A cross sectional study was conducted in Tanzania in two regions (Tanga and Pwani) from December 2022 to February 2023. Blood samples were collected from 200 unvaccinated cattle from randomly selected households and their sera were tested for presence of LSD virus antibodies using capripox double antigen multispecies commercial Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay kit (ID.vet Innovative Diagnostics-France). A questionnaire tool was used to collected data through face-to-face interview with herd owners or representatives to assess risk factors for LSD occurrence in the area and to assess KAP. The present study has confirmed presence of LSD antibodies and generated epidemiological information by establishing seroprevalence and risk factors for LSD occurrence. The overall prevalence was 13.5% (CI= 9.06-19.03) and 22.73% (CI =14.47- 32.89) at animal and herd level respectively. Seven (7) factors appeared to have significant influence on the LSD serostatus; namely age (OR= 3.1, CI =0.94-9.94), communal grazing system (OR= 6.14, CI =1.4-26.84), herd size (OR= 0.1, CI =0.02-0.04), introduction of new animal (OR= 3.53, CI=1.53- 8.18), source of breeding bull (OR =0.1, CI= 0.03-0.59), rural area location (OR= 2.6, CI =1.0-6.9), breed (OR= 0.3, CI =0.11-0.62) and free movement and contact with other animals (OR =3.54, CI =1.17- 10.704). Animal sex, breeding system and region had no significant association with the observed seropositivity at P≤0.05. Results on KAP revealed that majority of the respondents were aware of LSD and over half of the respondents had past LSD experience. Limited knowledge on LSD clinical signs, associated losses, transmission, control and blood feeding insect role in LSD epidemiology was observed. Majority of the respondents perceived LSD impact and its possibility of occurrence and believed vaccine is important in LSD control, however, majority believed that they had limited access to vaccines. Sharing of grazing areas and watering points, introduction of new animals and sharing of breeding bulls were common practices. Respondent age, herd size, district, role in the households, animal type and past experience on LSD occurrence were significantly associated with the observed KAP. This is the first study to be contacted in Tanzania which has generated important information on LSD including seroprevalence, risk factors and KAP. This information is important in planning and implementation of different control measure. These findings also suggest the need of conducting further studies to identify and characterize the causative agent and to develop vaccine for controlling this economically important disease | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/20.500.14820/7254 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Sokoine University of Agriculture | |
| dc.subject | LSD | |
| dc.subject | Seroprevalence | |
| dc.subject | risk factors | |
| dc.subject | KAP | |
| dc.subject | Tanzania. | |
| dc.title | Epidemiology and community knowledge, attitude and practice towards lumpy skin disease in Tanga and Pwani Regions inTanzania | |
| dc.type | Thesis |