The authors review a number of critical issues in the structural reform of animal health services for both small and non-commercial livestock producers in Africa and highlight several problems that others concerned with the privatisation of this service area have tended to neglect. Most notably, attention is called to the following: a) the need to retain a central role for paraprofessionals in ...

BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistance has emerged in recent years as a significant public health threat, which requires both an ethical and a scientific approach. In a recent Policy Delphi study, on-farm use of antimicrobials was a key concern identified by veterinary professionals in Ireland. In this case study (the second in a series of three resulting from a research workshop exploring the cha...

A questionnaire survey of 315 cattle owners from the rural districts of KwaZulu-Natal was carried out. The aim of the survey was to improve our understanding of local farmers' perceptions and practices of animal disease prevention and control and to establish the extent of their relationship with veterinary services. The survey showed that many owners practice preventive measures such as deworm...

Objective The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a new course in 2013 to meet needs of the veterinary epidemiologists within the Veterinary Services (VS) division. The objective of this training was to provide a standard framework to investigate animal disease outbreaks, and apply practical solutions. VS has expertise in animal surveillance, this training course demonstrated...

The purpose of this document is to educate providers of veterinary laboratory diagnostic testing in any setting about comparative testing. These guidelines will define, explain, and illustrate the importance of a multi-faceted laboratory quality management program which includes comparative testing. The guidelines will provide suggestions for implementation of such testing, including which samp...

Human brucellosis in South Africa (SA) is under-diagnosed and under-reported. This is because many clinicians have little or no experience in managing affected patients, and in part because of the nonspecific and insidious nature of the disease. A case of human brucellosis caused by Brucella melitensis in a patient from the Western Cape Province of SA is described, and the resulting exposure of...

ALTEX 33(2), 2016 185 – Prof. Njenga Munene, DVC Administration and Finance Egerton – Prof. John Mwangi, DVC Research & Extension – Prof. Charles Muleke, Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Science and Medicine – Dr Ashour K. Khalifa, Ministry of Interior, Equine Department of Police General Security, Tripoli, Libya – Dr Rodi O. Ojoo, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi – Dr Kirui Gil...

The author describes trends and difficulties in livestock production and consumption in Africa. Arguing that this production is less subsistenceoriented than commonly believed, he describes the economic objectives which play an important role in African husbandry. After a comparison of levels of production and performance with those of developed and developing nations, the role of livestock and...