Abstract

Participatory epidemiology based on the usage of participatory techniques for harvesting qualitative epidemiological intelligence contained within community observations, existing veterinary knowledge and traditional oral history. In this study, we applied some techniques of participatory disease surveillance (PDS) such as simple ranking, proportional piling, seasonal calendar, mapping, transect walk and interview with key informants with the use of check list as a guide in order to acquire data in randomly selected 20 villages in Aga District. Analysis of data indicated that the most dominant livestock species in this study area are buffaloes. The various livestock diseases occurring in these communities were identified and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) happens to be the most important disease of livestock based on this study. Traditional medicine is very much in practice in the study area. Some of the challenges encountered by these farmers include diseases, poor veterinary services and difficulty in getting access to feed due to their limited income. The use of participatory disease surveillance is a useful tool to collect reliable data that can be utilized for the control/eradication of livestock diseases in Aga district.

Keywords: Aga district; FMD; Participatory disease surveillance