ABSTRACT
Epizootic lymphangitis (EZL) is a chronic, contagious disease of equids caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum. The disease is often prevalent in cart pulling equids in developing countries. This study was undertaken in Central and South Gondar zones of Amhara region, Ethiopia with the objectives of estimating the prevalence of EZL in cart pulling horses and mules and identifying the risk factors of the disease. Two towns, one high altitude and one mid altitude, from each of the two zones were included for the study. A total of 528 cart pulling horses and mules from the selected towns were examined clinically, screened by physical examination based on clinical signs of the disease and confirmed by microscopic mycological examination of the causative agent. Potential risk factors data were collected through observation of cart animals and interviewing of cart owners and were statistically evaluated using mixed effect logistic regression. An overall EZL prevalence of 12.5% (95% CI: 9.9-15.6%) was found. The prevalence was 19.9% (95% CI: 15.8-24.8%) in horses and 5.8% (95% CI: 2.4-13.2%) in mules. The disease was prevalent in mid altitude towns but was not detected in high altitude cold towns of the study zones. The risk factor analysis revealed that sharing of harness, mingling of cart animals in cart stations, communal housing and pre-existing trauma wound were risk factors of EZL in cart pulling horses and mules. The study generally indicated that EZL is a prevalent problem in mid altitude towns that endangers the livelihood of the cart owners and wellbeing of cart pulling equids. This warrants the initiation of a control strategy mainly focusing on improving management of cart pulling equids related to the identified risk factors to ameliorate the EZL problem in the study area.
ABSTRACT
Epizootic lymphangitis (EL) is a chronic, contagious, fungal disease of equids. The disease is highly prevalent in cart pulling equines of Ethiopia affecting the livelihood of the cart owning households and welfare of the cart animals. This study estimated the economic impacts of EL and assessed cart owners' knowledge and practices related to the disease in northwest Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling approach was implemented to select cart animal owners for the study. A total of 274 cart animal owners were interviewed to collect data for the study. The average annual economic loss per cart owner was estimated at Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 8447. Of this loss, the ETB 4364, 2838, and 1245 were due to mortality, working power loss, and treatment costs, respectively. When the loss was computed only for affected car owners, it was on average ETB 9835 per affected cart owner. The average annual animal level loss was estimated at ETB 6587 per cart animal. Mortality was the largest contributor of the overall economic losses. There was a statistically significant difference in average economic losses per household between study towns (P < 0.05). The knowledge and practice study revealed that 51.2% of the respondents had good knowledge level (knowledge score above the mean score) of EL, but only 45.2% of the respondents had a good practice related to EL. A multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that socio-demographic factors such as educational level and town of residence were significantly associated with EL knowledge level of the respondents (P < 0.05), and on the other hand, knowledge level and residence of the respondents were significantly associated with EL practice level (P < 0.05). The study generally indicates that EL causes significant economic impact on the cart business, but cart owners had insufficient knowledge and poor control and preventive practices to combat the disease. Attention should be accorded to control the disease and reduce its impact on the livelihood of cart owners. As part of the control measure, more awareness creation about the disease and its preventive and management measures for cart owners will very important.
