Veterinary Epidemiology and Zoonosis

Important factors in Control and Eradication Programme

FACTORS INOLVED IN DISEASE CONTROL AND ERADICAITON PROGRAMME

• Before either a control or an eradication campaign can be undertaken, several factors must be considered and these include, the level of knowledge about the cause of the disease and, if infectious, also about its transmission and maintenance, including host range and nature of host/parasite relationship.

Veterinary infrastructure

• Veterinary services must be capable of implementing control and eradication campaigns.
•  There are three main requirements.
  • A mobile field service, comprising adequately trained veterinarians and veterinary auxiliaries
  • Adequate diagnostic facilities
  • Adequate research facilities

Diagnostic feasibility

• Control and eradication can be carried out successfully only if disease can be recognized.
• The main techniques of recognition are by,
  • Clinical signs
  • Pathological changes
  • Isolation of causal agents
  • Determination of an immune, allergic or biochemical responses
  • Epidemiological identification of changes of a variable in a population.

Adequate surveillance

• Control and eradication programmes require effective surveillance.
• When national or international disease control policies are formulated; options for surveillance may need to be reassessed.

Availability of replacement stock

• If a control or eradication campaign involves the slaughter of many animals, sufficient replacement stock should be available in the livestock industry to minimize disruption to production.

Producers opinion and co-operation

• The opinion of animal producers can affect the success of control and eradication campaigns.
• The producers opinion and degree of their co-operation are influenced by understanding of the control campaign and important preliminary step is a detailed explanation of its rationale to the farmers.

Public opinion

• The opinion of society may be an important consideration in a possible control or eradication scheme.
• Education of the public plays an important part in influencing attitudes.

Public health considerations

• Over 70% of the known pathogen is infectious to both man and other animals.
• Many of these-the zoonoses is naturally transmissible between man and animals.
• The control of zoonotic diseases is the main concern of veterinary public health authorities.

Requirements for legislation and compensation

• Control and eradication programmes are more effective when supported by legislation, sometimes accompanied by penalties when the legislation is contravened.

Ecological consequences

• It is argued that control and, particularly, eradication of an infectious gent may disturb the 'balance of nature' in an ecosystem.
• The elimination of an infectious may free a niche that could be occupied by more virulent organism.

Financial support

• Control and eradication campaign require financial support.
• The control of companion animal diseases readily draws financial support of the owners, canine, equine and feline vaccination programmes are examples; in all cases of financial support, the use of control has to be weighed against the cost of disease.