Abstract
Abstract
Background
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing, and livelihoods of communities. EVD response interventions particularly affect the food value chain, and income security of pig farmers in agro-pastoral communities. Despite the enormous effort of EVD response interventions, there is paucity of information towards EVD among those involved in the pig value chain, as well as the effect of EVD outbreaks on the pig value chain. This study therefore, assessed the knowledge, perceptions on the occurrence of Ebola and its effects on the pig value chain in the agro-pastoral district of Luweero, Central Uganda.
Methods
A cross sectional study was conducted in two parishes of Ssambwe and Ngalonkulu, Luwero district. A total of 229 respondents were included in the study. Structured questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 22 while qualitative data was analysed using thematic content analysis.
Results
Of the 229 respondents, 95.6% could recall the occurrence of the last EVD outbreak in their locality. About 24.5% associated EVD with touching pigs or eating pork. Regarding knowledge, 194 (84.7%) correctly associated EVD with handling Ebola infected persons, 191 (83.4%) with migration of people from endemic areas, 148 (64.9%) eating monkey meat, 127 (55.5%) with eating bats, and 198 (64.9%) with conducting public meetings where there is an Ebola infected person. Out of 142 farmers, 55 (38.7%) believed that Ebola outbreaks affected demand and sale of pigs. The EVD outbreak significantly led to a reduction in the average number of pigs sold (P = 0.001), the average number of pigs bought by traders (P = 0.04), and the number of pigs sold/ slaughtered by butcher men at pork eating places (P = 0.03).
Conclusion
This study showed that EVD outbreak negatively affected the pig value chain i.e., the demand and supply of pigs and pork. Therefore, there is need to sensitize the stakeholders in the pig value chain on EVD in order to minimize the negative economic impacts associated with EVD outbreaks.
Funder
Capacity Building in Integrated Management of Trans boundary Animal Diseases and Zoonoses (CIMTRADZ) –HED project
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference34 articles.
1. Sanchez A, Ksiazek TG, Rollin PE, Peters CJ, Nichol ST, Khan AS, et al. Reemergence of Ebola virus in Africa 1995;1(3):96.
2. Park DJ, Dudas G, Wohl S, Goba A, Whitmer SL, Andersen KG, et al. Ebola virus epidemiology, transmission, and evolution during seven months in Sierra Leone. Cell. 161(7):1516–26.
3. Marsh GA, Haining J, Robinson R, Foord A, Yamada M, Barr JA, et al. Ebola Reston virus infection of pigs: clinical significance and transmission potential. 2011;204(suppl_3):S804-S8S9.
4. Weingartl H, Embury-Hyatt C, Nfon C, Leung A, Smith G, GJSr K. Transmission of Ebola virus from pigs to non-human primates. Sci Rep. 2012;2(1):811. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00811.
5. Leroy EM, Epelboin A, Mondonge V, Pourrut X, Gonzalez J-P, Muyembe-Tamfum J-J. Formenty P Human Ebola outbreak resulting from direct exposure to fruit bats in Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2007. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2009;9(6):723–8. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2008.016.