title: Participatory analysis of seasonal incidences of diseases of cattle, disease vectors and rainfall in southern Sudan.
abstract: During an investigation into a chronic wasting disease in southern Sudanese cattle, a participatory appraisal method called a 'seasonal calendar' was used to understand local perceptions of seasonal variations in cattle diseases, disease vectors, intermediate hosts and rainfall. Repetition of a standardized seasonal calendar with Dinka informants demonstrated good reproducibility of the method. Comparison of rainfall data produced by seasonal calendars and objective measures of rainfall demonstrated good validity of the seasonal calendar method. Subjective assessment of seasonal calendar scoring patterns by veterinarians indicated that herders' perceptions of seasonal populations of biting flies, ticks and snails were similar to modern veterinary knowledge. The uses of seasonal calendars in veterinary epidemiology are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Participatory Approaches to Veterinary Epidemiology (PAVE) Project, Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Programme, International Institute for Environment and Development, 3 Endsleigh Street, WC1H 0DD, London, UK. andy.catley@oau-ibar.org
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Catley
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mawien
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Leyland
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission*; D004199:Disease Vectors; D015994:Incidence; D011891:Rain; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012621:Seasons; D013397:Sudan / Q000453:epidemiology; D019282:Wasting Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary