Strengthening capacity of Ugandan veterinarians: Report from a training for “Pig Herd Health Champions” at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2-13 March 2020
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Date
2020
Journal Title
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Publisher
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Abstract
In the past, the pig health research agenda of the smallholder pig value chain in Uganda has focused on
single infectious diseases, which have been looked at separately. This has generated a lot of useful
information that helped characterize the pig health status (Dione et al., 2014; Ouma et al., 2015; Dione
et al., 2016; Roesel et al., 2017; Dione et al., 2018). However, the link of health issues to the wider herd”
ecosystem” has been missing. For example, the importance of feeding strategies, co-infection, and
reproductive management is not fully acknowledged. Herd Health Management (HHM) is a method to
optimize health, welfare, and production in a herd. Pigs are within a delicate “ecosystem” which needs
to be analyzed when managing a herd. In the HHM, one doesn’t focus on a single infectious disease, but
rather on general farm conditions such as feed strategies, biosecurity, general health, reproductive
management, husbandry, and management skills. The whole need to ensure sustainable production to
maximize profit (Figure 1). However, some externalities such as greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial
resistance (AMR), and animal welfare need to be addressed to ensure that the production system
remains sustainable and resource-efficient into the future.
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Citation
Dione, M. M., Magnusson, U., Jacobson, M., & Lutakome, P. (2020). Strengthening capacity of Ugandan veterinarians: Report from a training for “Pig Herd Health Champions” at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2-13 March 2020.