Bovine Tuberculosis in Malawi

Information about BTB in Malawi is poorly documented. Its prevalence, however, was such that during the mid-1950s and 1960s the authorities instituted an experimental BCG vaccination program in an attempt to control the disease (see Sect.

16.6.1). The current available information about the prevalence and distribution of BTB is scanty and insufficient to serve as a basis for planning a comprehensive control program in the country (Tables 16.1 and 16.2). There appears to be a marked variation in the prevalence and extent of the distribution of the disease throughout the country (Berggren 1977, 1981; Bedard et al. 1993; Moodie 1977; Tebug 2012). More recent reports covering an 11-year period between 2005 and 2015 indicate that BTB is present in all the ADDs throughout the country, but that certain districts recorded no evidence of the infection over the years (Table 16.2). That no cases were recorded is not necessarily an indication that the disease does not occur in those districts, but it is rather a reflection of the lack of adequate routine abattoir inspection and the shortage of adequately trained human resources to cover all the districts to detect the disease by tuberculin skin testing or at abattoirs doing routine meat inspection (Table 16.3). To deal with these issues, the Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development (DAHLD) is sending officials for training programs in

Table 16.2 BTB in Malawi, by district, during 2005-2015

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District	Number of BTB outbreaks	Number of BTB cases	Mean number of BTB cases/ outbreak
Balaka	11	69	6
Blantyre	9	100	11
Chikwawa	26	6384	246
Chitipa	1	1	1
Dedza	16	43	3
Dowa	16	68	4
Karonga	11	107	10
Kasungu	27	363	13
Lilongwe	31	197	6
Machinga	5	10	2
Mchinji	8	33	4
Mulanje	1	1	1
Mwanza	3	3	1
Mzimba	36	320	9
Nkhotakota	1	1	1
Nsanje	3	5	2
Ntcheu	7	16	2
Ntchisi	7	14	2
Phalombe	1	1
Salima	15	76	5
Thyolo	5	9	2
Chiradzulu	0	0	0
Likoma	0	0	0
Mangochi	0	0	0
Neno	0	0	0
Nkhatabay	0	0	0
Rumphi	0	0	0
Zomba	0	0	0

Table 16.3 The number of veterinarians in different sectors in Malawi

Institution	Number of veterinarians	Percentage of total veterinarians
Public Sector (Government)	18	51.4
Academic or Training Institutions	4	11.4
Private Practitioners	2	5.7
Expatriates in NGOs	5	14.3
Retired	6	17.1
Total	35	100.0

Source: Annual Reports: DAHLD (2011-2015)

countries with adequate competencies, such as Botswana, in addition to offering in-house refresher courses.

16.4

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Source: Dibaba A.B., Kriek N.P.J., Thoen C.O. (eds.). Tuberculosis in Animals: An African Perspective. Springer,2019. — 453 p.. 2019

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