1. Livestock pests and vector-borne diseases – a much neglected subject

Abstract

Worldwide the livestock industry, from small farmers to large industrialized farms, is affected by arthropods and arthropod-borne diseases at various scales, which cause huge losses and are a constraint to socio-economic development. Farmers make considerable efforts to prevent and control pest and disease incidence, often requiring the use of vaccines, if available, drugs and pesticides. Examples of current problems are presented, to set the stage for the detailed and state-of-the-art presentations of specific cases of livestock pests and their associated diseases and modern methods of prevention and control.