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Cite this article: Demir P, Aydin E, Bozukluhan K (2017) The Assessment of Production Loss Caused by Foot-and-Mouth Disease on Animal Farms in the Northeast Anatolia Region in Turkey. J Vet Med Res 4(3): 1079.

Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Research

*Corresponding authorPinar Demir, Department of Livestock Economics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Kafkas, Turkey, Email:

Submitted: 20 March 2017

Accepted: 31 March 2017

Published: 06 April 2017

ISSN: 2378-931X

Copyright© 2017 Demir et al.

OPEN ACCESS

Keywords•Foot-and-mouth disease•Cattle•Production loss•Survey•Northeast anatolia region

Research Article

The Assessment of Production Loss Caused by Foot-and-Mouth Disease on Animal Farms in the Northeast Anatolia Region in TurkeyPinar Demir1*, Erol Aydin1, Kadir Bozukluhan2

1Department of Livestock Economics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Kafkas, Turkey2Ataturk Vocational Training School of Health Services, University of Kafkas, Turkey

Abstract

The province of Kars and the surrounding area, which are located in the Northeast Anatolia Region of Turkey, have a very significant potential for animal husbandry. The fact that animals are raised with traditional methods on pastures and meadows leads to periodic occurrence of infectious diseases in the region, especially foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The purpose of this study was to determine the economic assessment of FMD dairy cattle business owners in the province of Kars in Turkey. Interviews carried out with 82 animal farms in the region revealed that foot-and-mouth disease occurred in 725 out of 2,468 head of cattle. According to that information, the average prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease was calculated to be 29.38%. Furthermore, the survey study also determined that 95.12% of the farmers had had foot-and-mouth vaccinations administered within the past year to prevent FMD. The cost of the drug and treatment was calculated to be annual average of $110.49 per farm. It was estimated that the annual financial losses caused by FMD amounted to an average of $386 per animal

INTRODUCTIONIn Kars province and the surrounding area, which are located

in the Northeast Anatolia Region, animal husbandry makes up a significant part of the income for many families because the geography and climate are not suitable for agriculture. In fact, 68.2% of the population of Kars province makes their living from agriculture and livestock farming. There are 402,967 head of cattle, 264,600 sheep and 14,172 head of goats in the province, which means that the region raises 3.76% of Turkey’s cattle, 1.22% of Turkey’s sheep and 0.28% of Turkey’s goats [26].

The province of Kars and the surrounding area have a significant potential for animal husbandry, both compared with the region and with Turkey as a whole. However, because producers in the area are not economically well-off, animals are raised with traditional methods based on grazing in pastures and meadows [7]. This leads to frequent occurrence of infectious diseases in the region. In fact, epidemiological studies carried out in Kars and the surrounding region have shown that infectious diseases are quite widespread, including many that are zoonotic,

such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, leptospirosis, foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, and diarrhea in neonatal calves and lambs [5,8,9,15].

Foot-and-mouth disease is an acute viral disease that occurs in domesticated animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats as well as wild animals such as buffalo and antelope. The disease is not only quite contagious, it is also zoonotic [18,27,29].

The pathogen in foot-and-mouth disease is an epitheliotropic virus in the aphtovirus subgroup. The virus has 7 different serotypes (A, O, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3 and Asia 1) and more than 70 sub-serotypes [18,20].

The disease is spread when healthy animals come into direct contact with the virus-bearing saliva, milk, excrement or urine of infected animals. After the virus enters the animal’s body via mucus in the digestive or respiratory tracts or via damaged skin, it causes vesicles between toes on the hoof and on oral mucosa, the tongue and the pharynx. The most prevalent symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease are fever, loss of milk yield and stringy saliva, as well as vesicles and erosions between the toes and on

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oral mucosa, the tongue and the pharynx. The disease can also spread to the heart of young animals and cause death due to myocarditis [12,22].

There have been outbreaks of the disease in various parts of the world and in spite of all the precautions taken in Turkey, it is still endemic in the East Anatolia Region in particular, where Kars is located [13]. Livestock producers in the region where the disease occurs suffer significant economic losses, not only due to the death, loss of productivity and cost of medical treatment for the disease but also because of quarantines that are enforced. Furthermore, many countries today impose import bans on live animals and animal products from countries where the disease has been identified, which has a negative effect on the country’s economy [10,25,29].

This situation was the basis for this study, which had the goal of estimating production loss per animal due to foot-and-mouth disease occurring in Kars province and the surrounding area, which is one of the most important regions for raising livestock in Turkey.

MATERIAL AND METHODSDue to the fact that detailed records are not kept by farms in

the region, it is not possible to obtain accurate information about the number of animals that catch a disease or die, or information about meat and milk yield prior to the disease. Consequently, it is difficult to calculate economic losses caused by the disease. Therefore, the material for this study consisted of survey data obtained from face-to-face interviews carried out from January to May 2014 at 82 livestock farms randomly chosen from the region of Kars, which is located in the Northeast Anatolia Region where animal husbandry is prevalent.

Calculation of financial losses took into account production and yield loss at the level of the farm caused by animals with symptoms of the disease, based on data obtained from the survey study. The data was analyzed with the SPSS-11 software package. The study did not take into account export and tourism losses occurring at the international level, nor the cost of protection and control at the national level.

For dairy farms, separate calculations were made for financial losses caused by the disease in dairy cows, heifers, calves and beef cattle. Table (1) shows the methodology used to estimate yield losses caused by infected animals.

Table (2) shows the technical parameters used in the financial analysis and the relevant values obtained during the survey study.

RESULTSStatements made during interviews carried out with owners

of 82 animal farms in the region revealed that symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease occurred in 725 out of 2,468 head of cattle of various breeds, ages and weights in their farms during 2014. Based on this data, the average prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease was calculated to be 29.38%. Table 3 shows the total number of animals at the farms that participated in the survey as well as the number of animals with FMD, the number of deaths and the number of replacement animals.

The study calculated the incidence rate of the disease to be 33.33% in bulls, 23.69% in cows, 52.06% in heifers and 24.19% in steers and calf. A review of the age distribution of the disease revealed that the disease most frequently occurred in bulls at an average age of 2.07 years, in cows at 5.18 years and in calves at 4.69 months. The months in which foot-and-mouth disease occurred most often have been given in (Figure 1).

As is apparent from (Figure 1), the disease generally occurs in the spring and summer months. In the interviews, 35.37% of the farmers stated that the disease most often occurred in June.

The most prominent symptoms of the disease includes fever of up to 40-41°C, stringy saliva coming from the corner of the mouth and vesicles on the oral mucosa, between the toes of the hooves and on the teats of cows. During the survey study, 76.83% of the farmers stated that they diagnosed the disease from stringy saliva secreted by the animals, 79.27% pointed to vesicles in the mouth and 64.63% diagnosed it from lesions on the feet and teats.

Only 58.50% of the farmers answered ‘Yes’ to the survey question “Are diseased animals kept separate from healthy animals?” However, 76.8% of the farmers stated that they applied

Table 1: Used in calculation methods.Groups of animals Calculation methods

Bull(The number of slaughtered animals x FMD prevalence x reduction in the mean carcass weight x price of meat) +

(The number of cows culled x price of a culled cow)

Cow

(The number of milked animals x FMD prevalence x reduction in the mean milk productionx Declining days

x price of milk) + (The number of cows culled x price of a culled cow) + (The number of dead cow x price of

replacement cattle)

Heifer The number of cows culled x price of a culled cow) + (The number of dead cow x price of replacement cattle)

Steer+calf The number of calf culled x price of a culled calf) + (The number of dead calf x price of replacement calf)

Table 2: Same technical used in estimating Foot-and-mouth disease related losses.Parameters used in the

analysesMini-mum

Maxi-mum Mean Std.

DeviationAverage liveweight (kg/

head) 290 689 482.86 222.725

Decrease in the liveweight (%) 5.00 25.00 10.88 6.355

Average decreasing live weight (Kg) 10,0 120.00 41,66 36.320

Daily milk yield (L/day) 3 20 7.74 3.697Daily milk yield due to the

infection (L/day) 2 18 5.01 2.854

Average amount of milk decreased (L/day) 0,00 10,00 2.67 2.023

Time necessary for the re-covery of milk yield (day) 0.00 40.00 11.99 13.770

Rate of mammary lesion (%) 0,00 90.00 33.16 29.824

Rate of foot lesion (%) 0,00 80.00 29.47 29.637

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23.17%

35.37%

21.95%19.51%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

May June July August

The percentage distribution

Figure 1 The months in which foot-and-mouth disease occurred most often.

lime to protect against foot-and-mouth disease.

The survey study also determined that 95.12% of the farmers had had foot-and-mouth vaccinations administered within the past year to prevent FMD. Furthermore, 61.5% of these vaccinations were performed by provincial Agricultural ministry workers, while 38.5% were performed by private veterinarians. The study determined that 36.6% of the farmers were pleased with the vaccination. The cost of the vaccination was calculated to be an average of $26.66 per farm.

The study determined that of the farmers who said they only spread lime in the stable and had an FMD vaccine administered to protect from FMD, 64.40% said they were moderately or very pleased with the success of the treatment.

Table (4) shows the cost of vaccination and treatment incurred per farm due to FMD at the farms based on data obtained from the survey study.

It was determined that the cost of medicine and treatment incurred by farms for FMD was $110.49, but that the cost of treatment at 4 farms that did not have their animals vaccinated was an average of $526.

Table (5) shows the estimated production loss incurred per animal and per farm based on data obtained from the survey study.

As is apparent from (Table 5), an estimated annual total production loss of $279.935 occurred in the 725 head of cattle that had symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease. It was estimated that the financial losses caused by FMD amounted to an average of $386 per animal.

DISCUSSIONFoot-and-mouth disease is an acute, inflammatory and

contagious viral infection that affects pigs and ruminant ungulates such as cattle, sheep and goats. Anon., [1] States in their study that this disease is endemic in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America but has been largely eradicated in Europe aside from the outbreak that occurred in England in 2001.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), it occurs sometimes in Turkey, particularly in eastern regions. The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs states that there are serious problems with preventing the spread of animal diseases such as FMD, brucellosis, sheep and goat pox, rabies, tuberculosis, anthrax and goat plague (PPR), and that 2.7 billion TL is lost annually due to these diseases [3]. In this regard, this survey study carried out in the area of Kars determined that foot-and-mouth disease was observed in 29.38% of the animals. It is thought that the primary reasons that FMD is so widespread in the region include the fact that traditional extensive farming is carried out using pastures, the existence of a number of FMD viruses in the region and the fact that animal movement is not sufficiently controlled in the region. Studies carried out in Ethiopia report that the disease frequently occurs in that region for similar reasons [4,23].

Furthermore, Bozukluhan and Gökçe [5], reported in their study that reasons for the widespread occurrence of FMD in that region include vaccinations not being done enough or in time, poor stable hygiene and shelter for animals, unbalanced and insufficient feed for the animals, and animal owners being uninformed about livestock farming.

Table 3: Number of animals with FMD, the number of deaths and the number of replacement animals.

Groups of animals Total number of animals (Head)

The number of sick animals

(Head) (a)

PrevalenceRate (%)

The number of animals died

(Head)(b)

Mortality rate (%)

(b/a)

Reformeanimals (Head)

(c)

Reformerate (%)

(c/a)

Bull 54 18 33.33 0 0.00 1 5.56

Cow 1085 257 23.69 8 3.11 34 13.23

Heifer 461 240 52.06 11 4.58 22 9.17

Steer+calf 868 210 24.19 36 17.14 12 5.71

Total 2468 725 29.38 55 7.59 69 9.52

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Table 4: The cost of vaccination and treatment incurred per farm due to FMD($).

Parameters Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Cost of vaccination 3.76 73.93 26.66 16.385

Veterinary and medical treatment expenses 43.83 626.17 110.49 97.532

Table 5: Estimating the production losses due to Endemic Foot-and-Mouth Disease in cattle ($/year).

Groups of animals Production loss incurred per farm obtained from the survey study

Production loss incurred per farm

Production loss incurred per animal

Bull 11.642,50 161,70 646,81

Cow 113.273,93 1.573,25 440,75

Heifer 90.915,00 1.262,71 378,81

Steer+calf 64.104,00 890,33 305,26

Total 279.935,43 3.887,99 386,12Price of meat = 12,52$/kg Price of cow milk= 0,80 $/kgPrice of a replacement heifer ($/head)=3.757,00$ Price of a culled cow ($/head)= 2.254,00$Price of a replacement calf =1.910,00$/head Price of a culled calf = 1.144,00$/head

Interviews carried out with farmers determined that the livestock producers can diagnose FMD by looking for clinical symptoms. The symptoms most often noticed by the farmers include the flow of saliva and vesicles and wounds in the mouth, between toes and on teats. In fact, a study by Cetin and Alan [6] reported that FMD is widespread in Van province and that the primary clinical symptom was lesions on the nipples.

This survey study carried out with farmers indicated that the disease generally begins to occur in this region during spring time and that it peaks in June. This is consistent with the findings of a study performed by Agaoglu [2], which reported that the disease begins to occur in March and abates in October. The fact that FMD occurs more frequently in the summer is related to the characteristics of animal husbandry in the region. Because livestock are primarily raised on pastures in Kars and throughout eastern Anatolia, it is thought that the incidence of contagion is increased due to the fact that the animals graze together.

The study revealed that the disease occurs most frequently in bulls at an average age of 2.07 years, in cows at 5.18 years and in calves at 4.69 months. Similar to the results of this study, Rufael et al., [23] reported an incidence rate of 14.0% for the disease in cattle aged 3-4, while Mazengia et al., [19] reported FMD incidence of 18.18% in cattle over age 10 and 14.22% in those less than age 10.

It was reported that while the mortality rate for the disease is usually less than 1% in adult animals, this rate is higher in young animals [1]. Similarly, this study determined that the death rate due to the disease was 3.11% in cows and 17.14% in calves. Howlader et al., [11] reported a calf death rate of 9.71% in their study. The difference between these studies may be due to variations in vaccination, animal care and insufficient shelter. In fact, this survey study determined that because the farmers were uninformed about the disease, 41.50% of them kept sick animals together with healthy animals.

FMD is a very contagious disease and in spite of effective vaccination, it causes severe economic losses because it is still prevalent in many developing countries in the world [17].

Similarly, this survey study determined that 95.12% of the farmers had administered foot-and-mouth vaccinations within the past year. The fact that the disease is prevalent in the region in spite of the vaccinations may be due to the fact that there are 7 serotypes of the FMD virus and the occurrence of cross-immunity between the serotype variants, leading to more than one type causing the disease at the same time [12].

FMD causes lower production due to the loss of animal products such as milk and meat, inability for the animal to achieve the same yield after recovering from the disease, permanent damage to feet, chronic mastitis and the sudden death of young animals. Furthermore, it also causes significant losses in the nation’s economy both directly and indirectly because of export bans imposed on animal products and the cost of preventing and testing for the disease [14].

In the study by Anon. [1], it was reported that vesicles on the oral mucosa, a clinical symptom of FMD, prevents animals from eating, reduces the animal’s appetite and causes weight loss. Similarly, this survey study determined that the disease causes an average live weight loss of 10.88%. In keeping with this result, Senturk and Yalcın [24] reported live weight loss of 15-25%, while Power and Harris [21] reported live weight loss of 12.5%.

This survey study found that after clinical symptoms of the disease appeared, milk yield dropped 35.28% per day for an average of 11.99 days. Similar to this finding, Yeruham et al., [30] reported that milk production dropped an average of 21.5% per day for 7 days, while interviews carried out with buffalo farmers in a study by Singh et al., [25] revealed that milk production dropped 21-30%, the highest drop being between 16-30 days.

Based on data collected during this study, an estimated total production loss of $279.935 occurred in the 725 head of cattle that had symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease. It was estimated that the financial losses caused by FMD amounted to an average of $386 per animal, although that amount varies based on the animal’s breed, age and sex. The study by Senturk and Yalcin [24] found the average loss to be $294. The difference between these two studies may be due to the methodological method used and

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the excessive increase in the price of meat and live animals from 2003 to 2014.

In conclusion, this study found that the widespread occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in Kars and the surrounding area causes significant production loss due to morbidity, mortality, live weight and milk yield. When export bans imposed at the international level and the cost of prevention and testing at the national level are added to these losses, it can be said that the disease increases the economic loss even further. For this reason, in order to minimize losses, it will be important to identify the serotypes occurring in the region, to develop vaccines containing these serotypes and administer them in an organized fashion, to control animal movements and to inform farmers about the importance of quarantining and cordoning off animals during outbreaks.

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Demir P, Aydin E, Bozukluhan K (2017) The Assessment of Production Loss Caused by Foot-and-Mouth Disease on Animal Farms in the Northeast Anatolia Region in Turkey. J Vet Med Res 4(3): 1079.

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