Participatory diagnosis of a chronic wasting disease in cattle in southernSudan

In southern Sudan, livestock keepers identified a chronic wasting disease i n adult cattle as one of their most-serious animal-health problems. Partici patory-appraisal (PA) methods and conventional veterinary-investigation met hods were used to characterise the chronic wasting disease and identify lin kages between indigenous knowledge and modern veterinary knowledge. The loc al characterisation of chronic wasting encompassed trypanosomosis, fasciolo sis, parasitic gastroenteritis and schistosomosis (as both single and mixed infections). A standardised PA method called matrix scoring had good reproducibility whe n investigating local perceptions of disease-signs and disease causes. Comp arison of matrix-scoring results showed much overlap with modern veterinary descriptions of cattle diseases and the results of conventional veterinary investigation. Applications of PA methods in remote areas with very limite d veterinary infrastructure are discussed. The validation of data derived f rom PA is discussed by reference to the low sensitivity of 'field-friendly' diagnostic tests for important cattle diseases. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.