Pastoralism

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Implications of Covid-19 and emerging zoonotic infectious diseases for pastoralists and Africa

By Anthony Egeru (Makerere University, Uganda), Sintayehu W. Dejene (Haramaya University Ethiopia) and Aggrey Siya (Makerere University, Uganda)

Pastoralism volume 10, Article number: 12 (2020) 

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) has reinvigorated discourse on the disruptiveness of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases, owing to their transboundary character. Most infectious diseases affecting humans have been linked to viruses originating from zoonotic transmission through human-animal host contact. Pastoral communities are at a high risk of interacting with zoonotic infectious diseases, while many pastoral communities recognise that interactions between animals and humans have the potential to transmit diseases either way.

Major zoonotic infectious diseases have devastating impacts on health, economy and livelihoods of African pastoralists, who raise most of the continents’ livestock in semi-arid and arid regions.

These diseases include foot and mouth, Rift Valley fever and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. There are also zoonotic infectious diseases in the pastoral communities but largely remain neglected such as human African trypanosomiasis, brucellosis, cysticercosis/taeniasis, bovine tuberculosis and Q fever. World attention has tended to focus more on the emerging zoonoses that pose global economic and health threats, with minimal attention paid to the endemic zoonotic diseases in pastoral regions.  Further, as pastoral communities are a key source of livestock and livestock products to most rural and urban communities in Africa, they potentially serve as an important source of transmission to other communities. This risk further rises among transhumant pastoralists as they traverse various regions and across borders.

Zoonotic infectious diseases are influenced by a number of interacting factors and need to be addressed by multiple stakeholders - veterinary, public health, medicine, environmental science, food safety, economics and public policy.  One Health recognises the interdependence of human health, animal health and environmental health. To implement One Health means securing political and policy support in addressing long-term requisite investments and policies.