Assessment of the parasitic burden in the smallholder pig value chain and implications for public health in Uganda ; Untersuchungen zu parasitären Infektionen, inklusive ausgewählter Zoonosen, in Hausschweinepopulationen in kleinbäuerlichen Wertschöpfungsketten in Uganda

The surging demand for pork in Uganda provides an opportunity to set poor farmers on pathways out of poverty by increasing production and market access. At the same time, markets have become more complex and threaten the continuous presence of smallholder farmers: pig diseases and other factors hinder a constant supply while foodborne diseases may impair the quality and safety of the farmers’ products. The intensification level may affect the parasitic burden of pigs and hence the profitability of pig farming as well as the risk to human health associated with pork borne parasites. Research on parasitic hazards in smallholder pig value chains in Uganda has so far been limited, and therefore, the present study aims, as described in chapter 1, to contribute to improving selected smallholder pig value chains in Uganda by increasing the evidence base on prevalent parasitic diseases. Chapter 2 outlines the history of pigs in Africa, describes the current smallholder pig production systems in sub-Saharan Africa, and reviews the current state of knowledge on parasitic pig diseases compromising farm productivity as well as parasitic diseases that are potentially transmitted to humans through pork consumption or for which pigs are known to be a natural disease reservoir. The review refers to previous research from sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly Uganda. Chapter 3 describes the context of the study and how it fits into overarching research for development on smallholder pig value chains in Uganda led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It further describes how 35 villages were selected to be included into the survey, how value chain systems were defined as a proxy for the level of intensification, and characteristics of the area under study. Chapter 4 shows that both endo- and ectoparasites are perceived as an important production constraint by smallholder pig farmers in Central and Eastern Uganda, second only to African swine fever. Herd dynamics and husbandry practices in the predominating ...