TITLE:
Assessing Animal Disease Prevalence and Mortality in Smallholder Dairy Farms under Contrasting Management Practices and Stressful Environments in Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Dismas Said Shija, Mwai A. Okeyo, Perminus K. Migwi, Neema Joseph Kelya, Bockline Omedo Bebe
KEYWORDS:
Dairy Cattle, Disease Infections, Case-Fatality Rate, Animal Mortality Density, Positive Deviants, Tropics
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine,
Vol.12 No.11,
November
8,
2022
ABSTRACT: In dairy farming, deploying effective animal husbandry practices minimise disease infections and animal mortality. This improves animal health and welfare status, which is important in tropical smallholder dairy farming, where animals are persistently exposed to multiple environmental stresses. The hypothesis of this study was that animals managed in positive deviants and typical farms suffer different levels of disease infections and mortality, whether under low- or high-stress environments. The study adopted a two-factor nested design with farms contrasting in the level of animal husbandry (positive deviants and typical farms) nested within environments contrasting in the level of environmental stresses (low- and high-stress). A total of 1,999 animals were observed over 42 month period in the coastal lowlands and highlands of Tanzania. The disease prevalence was lower (p