Fig 1.
Cattle being gathered for foot and mouth vaccination.
Vaccine drives may involve owners bringing their animals to a single site. These programmes are efficient in terms of animal health workers’ time. However, some animals may be missed due to: long walking distances involved for people and their animals to reach the vaccination or treatment sites; difficulties in catching and restraining animals; or animal keepers being otherwise occupied at the time. It is noteworthy that small ruminants and pigs are not included in this foot and mouth vaccination drive. Furthermore, bringing animals together in this way could increase the risk of virus transmission, and spread of other production limiting infectious diseases.
Fig 2.
Vaccination team (Forest Dept/ TCF) visiting cattle in their own accommodation for immunisation near the Kaziranga National Park.
Vaccination teams visiting every household in a village improves coverage as fewer animals are missed. Owners do not have the problem of restraining their animals in an open area; mixing of animals, which may spread disease, is reduced; and this approach facilitates dialogue between vaccinators and animal keepers.
Fig 3.
Cattle presented for vaccination at the roadside in front of the keepers house on the fringe of Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
Presentation of livestock in front of the keepers home is an effective compromise, allowing vaccination teams to work efficiently. This is an example of the benefit of community engagement in the planning and undertaking of immunisation programmes.
Fig 4.
Map of India indicating the locations of The Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), and Kaziranga National Park (KNP).
Table 1.
Disease awareness and vaccine usage.
Table 2.
Distribution of animal keeper age compared to vaccination of livestock.
Table 3.
Animal keeper gender and livestock vaccination in Kaziranga.
Table 4.
Reason for vaccinating/ not vaccinating livestock in the last 12 months.
Table 5.
Respondents views on the benefits of vaccinating livestock.
Table 6.
Participants perceptions of reasons not to vaccinate livestock.
Table 7.
Reasons for annual vaccination (KTR).
Table 8.
Sources of animal health information.