Aim:This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of calf fetal wastage and its economic implications at ELAKAT slaughterhouse, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to fill the research gap in relationship with this thematic. The study investigations took place from May to September 2018.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional survey was carried at the slaughterhouse. For each visit, the number of cattle slaughtered, the number of pregnant cows slaughtered, and gestational ages (stage of pregnancy of the dam, and estimated by crown-rump length) of the fetuses were recorded.Results:Out of the 1035 cattle slaughtered during the study period, 970 were females. A total of 255 fetuses were recovered, representing a fetal recovery rate of 26.28%. The study established that one fetus was lost out of 4.5 cows slaughtered, and most of fetuses recovered (58.1%) were in the first trimester of gestation while 29.1% and 12.8% were, respectively, in the second and third trimester. Their age varied from 1.2 to 8.6 months, with body length ranging from 14 cm to 92 cm while their weight varied from 1.0 kg to 23.0 kg. The economic loss associated with the total cattle fetal wastages was estimated at Congo Democratic Francs (CDF) 29,906,400 ($15,787.5) with a monthly average of CDF 5,981,280 ($3,157.5).Conclusion:These results attested that slaughtering pregnant cows constitute a strong constraint on cattle industry development in DR Congo. Urgent measures, such as adequate enforcement of legislations on routine veterinary examinations at slaughterhouses as well as livestock owner’s sensitization, are required to avoid selling pregnant cows during calving season.
The article reviews the outbreaks and distribution of African swine fever (ASF) in South Africa since the first probable outbreak that occurred in the Koedoesrand Ward in 1926. Retrospective data on the ASF outbreaks in South Africa were obtained from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) disease database and the South African veterinary services annual reports in addition to published articles and online sources. South Africa has experienced many outbreaks that can be divided into 2 time periods: the period before the development of the OIE diseases database (1993) and the period after. More than 141 outbreaks of ASF were reported during the first period. Since the development of OIE disease database, 72 outbreaks directly involving 2968 cases, 2187 dead and 2358 killed pigs mainly in smallholder pig farms were reported. The median number of cases for a given ASF outbreak is 17, but in 50% of outbreaks no pigs were killed for prevention. The most important ASF outbreak was reported in April 2014 in the Greater Zeerust district (North West province) involving 326 cases and 1462 killed pigs. However, the outbreak with highest mortality involving 250 pigs was reported in 2016 (Free State province). According to phylogenetic analysis, nine p72 genotypes (I, III, IV, VII, VIII, XIX, XX, XXI and XXII) have been identified in South Africa. Season-wise, more outbreaks were recorded during summer. It was also observed that the OIE disease database could contain errors that would have been introduced through compiled forms at country level. Spatiotemporal studies on ASF outbreaks in South Africa are therefore required in order to assess statistically and quantitatively the clustering of outbreaks over space and time.
Le maraîchage est actuellement un secteur où certaines pratiques d’agriculture moderne comme la culture pure et l’utilisation des produits de synthèse se développent, mais sont de plus en plus questionnées. L’évaluation de la durabilité de ces pratiques n’a pas encore fait l’objet d’études dans les régions montagneuses du Sud-Kivu, à l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo. Pour y remédier, la durabilité de 368 unités de production maraîchère choisies de manière aléatoire et stratifiée a été évaluée grâce à l’outil « Indicateur de la durabilité de la production maraîchère » (IPDM). Les résultats obtenus font ressortir trois types d’exploitations dont 44 % sont de grande taille, 52 % de taille moyenne et 5 % de petite taille. Il a été constaté que, sur un maximum de 100 points possibles, les exploitations de petite taille obtiennent des scores de durabilité de 60 %, 53 % et 57 % sur les trois dimensions respectives de la durabilité : agroécologique, socio-territoriale et économique. Sur toutes ces dimensions, les grandes exploitations n’atteignent pas 50 %. Ces résultats montrent que les grandes exploitations, plus modernes, sont cependant moins durables. Afin de pérenniser le maraîchage au Sud-Kivu, il apparaît donc nécessaire de promouvoir l’intensification écologique, la diversification intégrée et la promotion des intrants locaux auprès des différents types d’exploitation, et en particulier des plus grandes, engagées dans des techniques intensives mais peu durables.
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