Control of BTB in Burkina Faso

In developed countries, BTB control programs based on a test-and-slaughter strategy and milk pasteurization significantly reduced the incidence of BTB in cattle and humans. In developing countries such as Burkina Faso, the situation is problematic, and the disease is mostly inadequately controlled because of the lack of financial resources and clear policies, and poor application of control strategies.

In Burkina Faso, two directorates (Directorate of National Laboratory of Live­stock and the Directorate of Animal Health) are mandated to control BTB by two decrees (KITI No. AN VII-0113 /FP/AGRI-EL portant reglement de la Police Zoo-Sanitaire au Burkina du 22 Novembre 1989 and KITI no. AN VII 114 FP- AGRI-EL portant regiementation de la sante publique veterinaire du 22 Novembre 1989). Although BTB is listed as a notifiable, communicable disease, it is not currently actively controlled by the Epidemiological Surveillance Network (Reseau de Surveillance Epidemiologique, RESUREP) of the Ministry of Animal Resources. The Regional Directorates of Animal Health are responsible for monitoring serious livestock diseases (including BTB) in each of the 13 regions of Burkina Faso. Under the supervision of Regional Livestock Laboratories, herd testing (including SIT for BTB) is conducted annually in different regions of the country as part of a general disease surveillance program. Bovine TB test-positive animals are slaughtered under veterinary supervision but without compensation. These animals are also allowed to be slaughtered for consumption (without any veterinary supervision), or they may be sold on the open market. Voluntary BTB diagnostic tests are sometimes performed on privately owned dairy cattle when required by international buyers. Thus control of milk-borne BTB is subject to voluntary control by individual owners, with the support of their trading partners.

In addition to the surveillance programs, there are veterinary control posts at the entry points along the borders of Burkina Faso that monitor a number of serious infectious diseases. Veterinary officers at these control posts alert RESUREP when suspected cases of BTB are encountered, and the regional officers and the RESUREP then conduct further investigations and institute appropriate control procedures.

To effectively deal with BTB in Burkina Faso in the future, the following measures should be considered:

1. Tuberculin testing. Systematically use SIT to detect infected herds, and apply the appropriate control measures (slaughter of infected animals, disinfection of pre­mises, etc.).

2. Adequate funding. It is necessary that funding be allocated for financial compen­sation of farmers who lose their animals, and further financial support of the program.

3. Quarantine facilities. As a country in the heart of West-Central Africa, Burkina Faso could benefit from quarantining animals coming from other countries that are known to be BTB-infected.

4. Managing the zoonotic risk. Although efforts are being made to limit human exposure along the meat chain based on abattoir inspection procedures, few measures are taken to limit the consumption of BTB-infected milk and other dairy products (Vekemans et al. 1999). The ministries of Health and of Animal Resources will benefit by cooperating to deal with the public health risk posed by BTB (Coulibaly and Yameogo 2000). For effective control of zoonotic TB, efforts must be made to enhance the diagnostic capabilities and BTB surveillance in both humans and animals through strong collaboration between the two mandated public institutions. In addition to SIT and slaughter schemes that are necessary to eradicate BTB from cattle herds, specific measures such as pasteur­ization of milk and other dairy products and improved meat inspection protocols in slaughterhouses should be put in place to further limit the risk of transmission.

5. Public awareness campaigns. These activities are an integral part of the fight against BTB. It is important that breeders, butchers, traders, consumers, and the general public have adequate knowledge about the way in which M. bovis is transmitted and of the sources of infection and their zoonotic risk (Coulibaly and Yameogo 2000).

Acknowledgments The author is grateful to Dr. Daouda Kassie, researcher in geography of health at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), for the map of Burkina Faso.

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