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Introduction

Ethiopia has the largest cattle population of all the African countries, and it com­prises 80% of all livestock units in the country (FAOSTAT 2003). Over 85% of the Ethiopian population lives in rural areas, and more than 80% of them depend on livestock production for their livelihood and survival (CSA 2012).

Their livestock serve as a source of food, household cash income, transportation, traction power, and accumulation of wealth. The livestock sector contributes 16.5% to the national and 35.6% to agricultural GDP (Metaferia et al. 2011), generates up to 15% of Ethiopia’s export earnings, and provides 30% of agricultural employment opportunities (Behnke 2010). The value of livestock, in terms of their contribution to the national economic development, poverty alleviation, and supporting the livelihood of a significant segment of the population, is often underrated (Kimball 2011), and a mere 0.3% of the annual Ethiopian governmental expenditure is allotted for live­stock development (FAO 2004).

Because livestock, especially cattle, are seen as indicators of wealth and social standing in Ethiopia, livestock keepers endeavor to maximize the number of their

D. B. Areda (*)

College of Science Engineering and Technology (CSET), Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

A. Muwonge

The Roslin Institute, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK

e-mail: Adrian.muwonge@roslin.ed.ac.uk

A. B. Dibaba

Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL, USA

e-mail: adibaba@tuskegee.edu

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

A. B. Dibaba et al. (eds.), Tuberculosis in Animals: An African Perspective, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18690-6_14 animals that they own, rather than to focus on the quality of products such as milk and meat that they produce, and their market value.

The productivity of the livestock sector is low, and its contribution to the regional and national economic development is suboptimal.

However, traditional smallholder dairy farms produce 97% of all the milk in the country, and over 75% of milk is delivered to commercial processors. Most of the cattle are of the indigenous zebu breeds, and they are generally poor milk producers with a yield of about 400-680 kg of milk/cow over a lactation period of 150-180 days, compared to the average of about 9500 kg/annum of the American national herd (Yilma et al. 2011). Poor food, both in quality and quantity, poor management and health care, and the low genetic potential of indigenous breeds all contribute to their low productivity (MoA 1998).

The impact of infectious diseases imposes major constraints on livestock produc­tion in Ethiopia. In addition to the direct economic losses associated with mortality and morbidity, these diseases cause retarded growth, reduced fertility, and reduced traction power (Haftu et al. 2014). They also prevent the country from participating in the lucrative international livestock and meat trade and with strategies to improve indigenous stock through crossbreeding programs.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is an endemic disease of high economic significance in Ethiopia where it affects cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. This situation which poses a zoonotic risk in the Ethiopian population, enhanced by their impaired immunity caused by HIV/AIDS and malnutrition, should be a major concern. However, despite the high prevalence of BTB in animals and the risk of zoonotic infection, control and preventative measures for the disease in both human and animal populations are virtually nonexistent in the country.

This chapter aims to provide information about the status and outline the chal­lenges and opportunities for the future control and prevention of BTB in Ethiopia.

14.2

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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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