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In India, among various diseases that limit livestock production, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) stands first and affects thousands of animals every year. The estimation of loss due to FMD is of paramount importance for designing appropriate control plans. The economic impact studies on various livestock diseases including FMD are very minimal and hence this study assessed the economic loss due to FMD in cattle and buffaloes in few states and overall loss in the country. The total loss estimated comprise of milk yield reduction, unavailability of draught power, distress sale, treatment cost, mortality and opportunity cost of labour based on primary survey undertaken in 10 states and one Union territory. The results revealed that there was variation in loss levels between species and among the study states due to variation in disease incidence and severity levels, productive capacity of the animals, animal health infrastructure in the respective states, etc. The total estimated loss due to FMD in cattle and buffalo was INR 20,897 crore during 2013-14 with wide variation in magnitude across the states studied. The study provided empirical evidence of loss due to FMD in cattle and buffaloes in few states and overall loss in the country.

Summary: This study assessed the short‐run impact to poultry farmers, duck hatcheries, control costs, compensation paid to stakeholders (transfer payments) and market reactions on own and substitute product prices and backwater tourism (boat operators) due to avian influenza (AI) outbreaks in Kuttanad region of Kerala, India, during 2014. The primary data from 91 poultry farms (duck farms, broiler chicken and backyard poultry), four hatcheries and 90 backwater boat owners were collected through pre‐tested schedules. The secondary data on transfer payments and expenditure incurred to control AI were collected from developmental departments and were analysed. The estimated loss (culling live birds, eggs and feed destruction) per duck farm was USD 9,181, USD 3,889 and USD 156 in case of commercial farms reared for meat, dual‐purpose and backyard farms, respectively. The loss incurred by small‐scale broiler and backyard poultry farms was USD 453 and USD 40, respectively. The loss incurred by large and small duck hatcheries was USD 11,963 and USD 5,790, respectively, due to culling of hatchlings, young birds and destroying eggs. The government invested USD 744,890 to contain the disease spread through massive culling, surveillance and monitoring of poultry and humans due to zoonotic nature of the disease. A sharp market reaction on own and substitute product prices and eight weeks’ time lag in price recovery was observed. The consequential impact on tourism especially for the backwater boat operators amounted to a loss of USD 2,280/boat due to fall in tourist inflow. Since, control measures are post‐incidence, it is necessary to adopt appropriate preventive bio‐security measures at the farm level besides periodical screening of domestic birds in migratory birds’ flyway locations like Kuttanad to reduce the AI burden on various stakeholders including government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, post vaccination seroconversion to Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus in small ruminants was assessed since annual mass vaccination campaign (MVC) implementation in Chhattisgarh. Random serum samples (n = 14235) over a period of six years (2010–2016) and stratified random serum samples (n = 269) along with epidemiological parameters by cross-sectional study during 2016–2017 were collected and tested by competitive ELISA for PPR virus antibodies. The overall results from random and stratified sampling indicate that 84% (11989/14235) and 55% (148/269) population represent protective percentage levels of antibodies, respectively. On Chi-square analysis, significant difference was observed in seroconversion rate {between the years 2010–2016 and 2016–2017 (χ 2  = 164.88); 2010–2016 (χ 2  = 151.95); 2010–2017 (χ 2  = 312.74) (P < 0.01)} and across age groups (χ 2  = 11.70, p < 0.01) and not between species, breed, sex, and other managemental factors. Further, logistic regression analysis revealed that age groups of animals was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with PPR. The observed seroconversion in the population by stratified random sampling method was lower during 2016–2017 than the world organisation for animal health recommended ∼70%, that indicates annual PPR MVC strategy adopted has not provided desired protection levels. Therefore, vaccination activities need to be continued for three more years by targeting naïve young animals biannually, after that, serosurvey in appropriate sampling method need to be conducted to augur vaccination status and effectiveness of control programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cross sectional study showed only 1.28 % prevalence of PPRV antibodies in goats in AN Islands, India during 2017–2018. • None of the selected epi-units in the region had neither the seroprevalence of >30% nor the protective immunity of >70%. • The finding indicates that the goat population in the region are generally free from PPRV antibodies. This cross-sectional study describes the seroprevalence of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in goats in Andaman and Nicobar (AN) Islands, India during 2017–2018. A total of 392 goat serum samples were collected from 36 epidemiological units (epi-units) using a stratified random sampling procedure and were screened for PPR virus (PPRV) antibody using an indigenously developed PPR monoclonal antibody-based competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay. The results showed that the overall 1.28% (0.01-0.03 at 95% confidence interval) and 1.39% apparent and true prevalence of PPRV antibodies in goats in the studied region. Further, a few samples from five epi-units have only shown marginal positive (percentage inhibition (PI) value ranged from 40.4 to 48.0) for PPRV antibodies with less than 30% seroprevalence in all the tested epi-units in the study region. The finding infers that the goat population in the region are generally free from PPRV antibodies, as there were neither PPR outbreaks reported nor PPR vaccination strategies practiced in goats in AN Islands. Further, the PPR immune protection in goats is almost nil, when compared with the mainland of India, where the disease is enzootic with varying percentage of seroprevalence and population immunity is being reported. This is first of its kind on the prevalence study of the PPRV antibodies in goats in a unique niche of AN archipelago of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]