Newcastle disease vaccination: From technology to poverty reduction

• Main Authors: Young, J, Grace, D, Young, M, Alders, R.G, Kibaya, A, Msami, H, Bagnol, B
• Format: Publication
• Language: English
• Published: ILRI 20.08.2012
• Subjects: ANIMAL DISEASES; DISEASE CONTROL

Newcastle disease (ND) is a major constraint to village chicken production in Africa. In endemic areas upto 50-100% of the village flock is lost annually. Women poultry-keepers lose assets, income and ability tofeed their families. Vaccines are highly effective, yet use in villages is low and little is known about thereasons for this. In 2003-2005 a project worked to promote the use of the I-2 ND vaccine in ChamwinoDistrict, Tanzania. This thermotolerant vaccine, developed by the University of Queensland, is affordable,effective, and easy to administer. Five years later, we investigated vaccine uptake. Villages were stratifiedby delivery system (project, and active, inactive, and no extension), 2 were randomly selected from eachstrata, and households randomly sampled. Questionnaires (n=456), conjoint analysis (n=455), participatoryappraisal (n=100 participants) and gender-specific focus group discussion (n=206) were used to assess social,cultural and economic determinants of vaccination. Losses from ND were high: households kept on average15 poultry, and had lost 20 in the last year, 15 from ND. Only 1/3 had vaccinated in the last year. Conjointanalysis found distance and price were more important vaccine attributes than effectiveness or bundledservices. Wealth, gender, knowledge, and disease impacts all influenced uptake, but more important wereprevious experiences of vaccination and the delivery system available. With adequate systems, vaccinationdelivered major benefits; with poor systems vaccination was associated with increased losses. In the studyarea, the major driver for vaccine uptake failure is not poultry-keepers but the services available to them.Given active extension, well-trained vaccinators, and participatory service delivery, ND vaccine can bringimportant benefits to poultry health and livelihoods of the poor.