Research, Policy and Practice
Table 5 A summary of the top-level livestock surveillance system evaluation
Theme | Sub-theme: strengths | Sub-theme: weakness/areas for improvement |
|---|---|---|
Usefulness and sensitivity | Agreed that the system generates information used in justification for lobby for funds for disease control | The effectiveness of disease control measures not evaluated |
Simplicity and timeliness | Information on severe outbreaks quickly disseminated to MAAIF | DVOs reluctant to submit monthly reports to MAAIF regarding routine disease situation. Incentives would be proposed for the best performers to encourage consistent reporting Electronic reporting could also ease the reporting process |
Representativeness | Generic description of the distribution of infection in the population by place and type of animal hosts possible using information reported by farmers | More accurate information describing pattern of the outbreak in the community like herd size, management systems and exact onset of infection left out since this requires technical expertise |
Flexibility, acceptability and data quality | None | The system is not able to adjust to variations in funds and personnel. Data quality can be improved by revising the existing surveillance data form and also developing an electronic version of this form |