Tropicultura (Jan 2005)
The diagnostic capacity of veterinary field staff in the Nkhotakota District of Malawi
Abstract
The limited capacity of the Malawian public sector to efficiently deliver animal health services and the inaccurate disease database were highlighted as some of the challenging constraints during the 1999 National Livestock Development Master Plan (NLDMP) survey. Veterinary Assistants (VA) distributed in the dip tanks and veterinary stations throughout the country are supposed to generate the livestock disease information which is channelled to the policy decision makers at headquarters. A study was conducted to assess the diagnostic capacity of those VAs and to determine the livestock owners' ability to detect sick animals. The study focused on the diagnosis of tsetse-transmitted bovine trypanosomosis in Nkhotakota District. Results showed that VAs were able to identify animals in poor conditions but no relationship was observed between their diagnosis and the actual trypanosomal infection status of the animals. Livestock owners were aware of disease problems but lacked ability to detect animals in poor condition.
