Community-based integrated animal health management to reduce the impact of cerebral Coenurosis in Bonga sheep in Kaffa zone, southwestern Ethiopia

Coenurosis, a fatal parasitic disease, is widespread in the highlands of
Ethiopia, where 75% of the country’s sheep population is found. There is a
significant prevalence of the disease in the current study area.
Therefore, the current study was conducted to reduce the impact of
cerebral coenurosis on sheep production in the study area by integrating
different prevention and control options and raising community awareness
of the disease. Questionnaire surveys, coproscopic examination of dog
feces, and household-level surveillance were used to collect data on
reported coenurosis cases and taeniid infections. Awareness creation
training and regular dog deworming were used as an intervention to reduce
the prevalence of the disease. A total of 107, 134, 153, and 124 dogs were
dewormed during the first, second, third, and fourth rounds during the
study period, respectively. Eggs were detected in 58.53% (95% CI 47.4-
68.86) of pre-deworming fecal samples of dogs. Eggs were detected in
24.18% (95% CI: 40.0–49.7) of the fecal samples after the intervention,
34.35% less than before the intervention. At the beginning of the
intervention, the level of awareness of farmers in the intervention sites
about the cause of the disease was 12.2%, which increased to 51.03% at the
end of the intervention. The community-based integrated animal health
management approach for coenurosis control has the potential to be
expanded throughout the country, thus reducing economic losses in
communities where the disease is endemic.