Evaluation of Smallholder Farmers’Awareness of Cattle Diseases in Svay Rieng and Prey Veng Provinces,Cambodia

In Cambodia,cattle are used as draught power,sources of fertilizer,sources of assets,and for meat production.Due to some contagious illnesses such as hemorrhagic septicemia and foot-and-mouth disease(FMD),they mostly have low reproductivity and poor physical health.Among those diseases,brucellosis is starting to appear in cattle production in rural Cambodia and is highly transmissible to humans.Thus,the objective of this study was to evaluate the farmers’awareness of cattle diseases and their transmissibility in the country.A survey was conducted in two provinces,Svay Rieng and Prey Veng,in Cambodia,starting from July 2021 to January 2022.A sample size of 216 was randomly selected from the two provinces by using Taro Yamane,and the selection criteria were that the targeted households must have at least two cows.A pre-determined questionnaire was utilized to collect data on number of cattle,raising type,feeding system,source of cattle purchase,hygienic condition,waste management,cattle disease,body score condition and symptoms.As a result,86% of the respondents in Prey Veng province and 99.07% in Svay Rieng province have cattle disease.Smallholder farmers raise 5 to 10 cattle per household,while other farmers raise 10 to 15 calves,or 15-20 or more than 20 heads,while only 20% of smallholder farmers in Prey Veng were able to raise 5 to 10 male cattle per household.Of all the interviewees,90% recognized FMD based on clinical signs such as blisters on the feet,loss of appetite,salivation and painful,red,blister-like lesions on the tongue.Meanwhile,60% know lumpy skin disease(LSD)due to skin nodules.No one knew about brucellosis.The findings suggest that the knowledge farmers have over cattle disease is very limited and this needs more support from related institutions to raise their awareness in order to cope with cattle disease correctly and timely.

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease on Cattles at Svay Rieng and Prey Veng Province, Cambodia

LSD (Lumpy Skin Disease) is a poxviral disease with significant morbidity in cattle and belongs to the family Poxviridae and the genus Capripoxvirus and is transmitted by hematophagous arthropod vectors. Despite the typically low mortality rate, economic costs arise from deterioration in health, decreased milk production, miscarriages, infertility and harmed hides. Brucellosis disease is one of the most common contagious and communicable zoonotic diseases with high rates of morbidity and lifetime sterility. Serological tests with ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays) indicate exposure to Brucella and LSD in cattle. To identify the presence of those diseases, the research was conducted in two provinces, Svay Rieng and Prey Veng, in Cambodia, starting from July 2021 to January 2022. In the study, the 2018 Thusfield method was adopted, and two cattle were selected from 216 households in the two provinces (112 in Svay Rieng and 104 in Prey Veng). However, not all the families had two cattle, so the total sample size was 300 cattle (227 in Svay Rieng and 73 in Prey Veng). As a result, there was only one brucellosis disease case in Svay Rieng Province, while that disease was not found at all in Prey Veng. Meanwhile, LSD was higher in Prey Veng (80% of the tested cattle) than in Svay Rieng (69%). Among all of the tested cattle, 66.7% had the highest BS (Body Score = 4). The finding suggests that LSD was prevalent in the studied areas, which may cause economic losses. Thus, preventive measures should be taken properly to tackle this issue. Although Brucellosis was a rare case in the studied areas, it may spread faster, causing abortion in cattle and women. Biosecurity is needed to ensure a strict control over this disease.