Prioritization of economically significant camel diseases using participatory epidemiology tools in Somali pastoral areas, Ethiopia.

Camels are essential for impoverished pastoralist communities because they help to build assets, provide protection from unforeseen circumstances, hold spiritual and social significance, transport goods, provide food, and generate income. The study was conducted from May 2021 to December 2021 with the objectives of identifying and prioritizing economically significant camel diseases using participatory epidemiology tools in two selected districts (Degahbour and Gunagado) of the Jarar zone, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia. Participatory epidemiological investigations of economically significant camel diseases were carried out with the aid of participatory epidemiological methods such as simple ranking, pairwise ranking, matrix scoring, and seasonal calendars to prioritize and identify the seasonal occurrences of the diseases. The participatory epidemiological investigation result revealed that anthrax was the first-ranked and camelpox was the second economically significant camel disease in the study area. Then, followed by trypanosomiasis, mange mite, and orf, which ranked last. Hence, camelpox seems to be endemic in the Jarar zone with high seasonal occurrence during rainy seasons (Gu’ and Deyr). Therefore, considering the economic significance of the disease, vaccination and improved camel management practices, particularly during the high-risk periods, can be good strategies to reduce the impact of the disease.