Control of BTB in Ethiopia

14.5.1 Current State of Affairs and Future Direction

Despite the substantial economic burden of BTB on the livestock industry and its considerable threat to public health in Ethiopia, efforts to control or prevent it are limited.

Currently, BTB control is applied only on large dairy farms (both state and privately owned) in and around Addis Ababa and in the export beef cattle sector to meet the requirements of the Middle Eastern and North African importing countries. For the beef sector, a mandatory test-and-isolation policy is applied, but in the dairy sector, only cases suspected clinically to suffer from BTB are tested. Reactors are usually quarantined, treated, and then returned to the herd of origin or are moved to a different farm. The authorities are also not notified of positive reactors, and the current processes appear to enhance the dissemination of the disease.

Due to socioeconomic and logistical constraints in Ethiopia, abattoir meat inspec­tion remains the only way to monitor the occurrence of BTB in livestock. It has the added advantage of allowing an estimation of economic losses caused by the condemnation of tuberculous organs and carcasses. Data collected from routine meat inspection can also be used to make evidence-based decisions when developing control and prevention strategies for BTB in Ethiopia.

14.5.2 Challenges

Currently, there is not a national BTB control or prevention program in Ethiopia primarily because of inadequate financial support and the lack of infrastructure and human resources. A lack of awareness, by farmers and traders of a risk-based trading approach allowing buyers to minimize or avoid the risk of infection with BTB, is also prevalent and should be addressed when implementing future control programs (DEFRA 2013).

Another matter that should be rectified is the current unregulated movement of infected livestock, since contact with other livestock or wildlife constitutes a major way in which the infection is disseminated.

The lack of a mandatory test-and-slaughter policy, the absence of livestock movement control, animal identification and a tracking system, and the general lack of knowledge and awareness about isolation and quarantine practices are some of the challenges that make the future prevention and control of BTB in Ethiopia a daunting task.

14.5.3 Opportunities

14.5.3.1 Policy

Recognition and inclusion of livestock health as a major component of the Ethiopian livestock master plan (LMP) would be an important step forward for initiating control and prevention strategies for BTB (Shapiro et al. 2015).

14.5.3.2 Human Resources

Establishing more and strengthening the 15 current regional veterinary diagnostic laboratories and an upgrade and expansion of the National Animal Health Diagnos­tic and Investigation Center (NAHDIC) would create better opportunities for design­ing and implementing evidence-based disease control and prevention policies and strategies. In the past two decades, Ethiopia has expanded the number of higher educational facilities including the establishment of nine new veterinary schools. Additionally, five more colleges (two public and three private) have been established to train animal health assistants. The training of thousands of veterinary profes­sionals at various levels (undergraduate, graduate, and technicians) may assist to reduce the technical and administrative challenges that the country faces when implementing BTB control and preventive measures.

14.5.3.3 Policy Development and Implementation

The development of its export trade in livestock and livestock products is one of Ethiopia’s major objectives. This venture requires adherence to the international policies for the management of trade limiting, trans-boundary livestock diseases such as BTB. Keeping the sanitary and phytosanitary standards of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that govern international trade in livestock in mind, the Ethi­opian government will have to review their policies and practices, to allow them to participate in this trade.

• Applying stringent sanitary regulations to livestock production and livestock products, including their auditing and certification requirements

• Introducing an animal identification and traceability system

• Creating a national livestock registry and traceability databank

Implementation of these processes is likely to create a better opportunity for initiating sustainable BTB control and prevention programs in Ethiopia. The oppor­tunity to do it already exists as the Ethiopian authorities have already enacted and applied the mandatory test-and-isolation policy in its export beef cattle sector to meet the requirements of importing countries (mainly the Middle East and North Africa), and it merely needs an extension of the existing measures to deal with BTB on a national scale.

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