Background: Livestock mortality impacts farmer livelihoods and household nutrition. Capturing trends in livestock mortality at localised or national levels is essential to planning, monitoring and evaluating interventions and programs aimed at decreasing mortality rates. However, livestock mortality data is disparate, and indicators used have not been standardised. This review aims to assess livestock mortality indicator definitions reported in literature, and define the ages where mortality has greatest impact. Methods: A systematic review was conducted, limited to articles focussed on mortality of cattle, sheep and goats. Peer-reviewed articles in Web of Science until year 2020 were assessed for inclusion of age-based definitions for mortality indicators and data on age distribution of mortality. Indicator definitions for each species were collated and similar terms and age groups most targeted were compared. The cumulative distribution of age at mortality was compared across studies graphically where possible; otherwise, age patterns for mortality were collated. Results: Most studies reported mortality risk rather than rate, and there was little agreement between indicator definitions used in the literature. The most common indicators reported were perinatal and neonatal mortality in cattle, and for perinatal, neonatal and pre-weaning mortality indicators for sheep and goats. Direct comparison of age distribution of mortality was only possible for cattle, which found that approximately 80% of all mortalities within the first 12 months had occurred by six months of age. A significant finding of the study is the variation in age groups for which mortality is reported, which impedes the comparison of mortality risk across studies, particularly for sheep and goats. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance and value of standardising mortality risk indicators for general use, including a young stock mortality risk indicator measuring mortality in the highest risk period of birth to six months of age in cattle, sheep and goats.
Participatory epidemiology (PE) evolved as a branch of veterinary epidemiology and has been largely employed for the control and early warning of infectious diseases within resource-limited settings. It was originally based on combining practitioner communication skills with participatory methods to facilitate the involvement of animal caretakers and owners (embracing their knowledge, experience, and motivations) in the identification and assessment of animal disease problems, including in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of disease control programs, policies, and strategies. With the importance of understanding social perceptions and drivers receiving increasing recognition by epidemiologists, PE tools are being adapted for an increasingly wide range of settings and endeavors. More recently, PE tools have been adapted for use in food and nutrition security programs, One Health activities, wildlife disease surveillance and as part of mixed-methods research across a range of socio-economic settings. This review describes the evolution of PE (in relation to veterinary epidemiology and briefly in relation to public health epidemiology), the underpinning philosophy and principles essential to its effective application and the importance of gender-sensitive approaches and data triangulation, including conventional confirmatory testing. The article also provides illustrative examples highlighting the diversity of approaches and applications of PE, hallmarks of successful PE initiatives and the lessons we can learn when these are missing. Finally, we look forward, describing the particular utility of PE for dealing with emerging infectious diseases, gaining attention of field-level cross-sector officials who can escalate concerns to a higher level and for continuing to raise the voices of those less-heard (such as women, minority groups, and remote communities with limited exposure to formal education) in defining the problems and planning activities that will likely impact directly on their well-being and livelihoods.
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