diagnosis of cattle diseases endemic to sub-saharan africa evaluating a low cost decision support tool in use by veterinary personnel牲畜疾病的诊断撒哈拉以南非洲特有的评估一个低成本的决策支持工具在使用兽医人员.pdfVIP

Diagnosis of Cattle Diseases Endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa: Evaluating a Low Cost Decision Support Tool in Use by Veterinary Personnel 1 2 3 Mark C. Eisler *, Joseph W. Magona , Crawford W. Revie 1 School of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, 2 Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development, Hoima, Uganda, 3 Atlantic Veterinary College, University of PEI, Charlottetown, Canada Abstract Background: Diagnosis is key to control and prevention of livestock diseases. In areas of sub-Saharan Africa where private practitioners rarely replace Government veterinary services reduced in effectiveness by structural adjustment programmes, those who remain lack resources for diagnosis and might benefit from decision support. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated whether a low-cost diagnostic decision support tool would lead to changes in clinical diagnostic practice by fifteen veterinary and animal health officers undertaking primary animal healthcare in Uganda. The eight diseases covered by the tool included 98% of all bovine diagnoses made before or after its introduction. It may therefore inform proportional morbidity in the area; breed, age and geographic location effects were consistent with current epidemiological understanding. Trypanosomosis, theileriosis, anaplasmosis, and parasitic gastroenteritis were the most common conditions among 713 bovine clinical cases diagnosed prior to introduction of the tool. Thereafter, in 747 bovine clinical cases estimated proportional morbidity of fasciolosis doubled, while theileriosis and parasitic gastroenteritis were diagnosed less commonly and the average number of clinical signs increased from 3.5 to 4.9 per case, with 28% of cases reporting six or more sign