Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) is an acute fatal infectious disease of mainly cattle
and buffalo and outbreaks occur commonly in Cambodia. Disease outbreak
reports were examined to select five villages from three provinces for a retrospective
investigation of HS epidemiology and socioeconomic impact on smallholders,
with an aim of identifying potential benefits from improving disease
prevention through biosecurity and vaccination. The Village Animal Health
Worker (VAHW) or Chief in each village and 66 affected smallholders were surveyed.
At the village level, 24% of all households were affected with an estimated
mean village herd morbidity of 10.1% and mortality of 28.8%. Affected farmers
reported HS disease morbidity and mortality at 42.7% and 63.6% respectively.
Buffalo had a higher morbidity (OR = 2.3; P = 0.003) and mortality (OR = 6.9;
P < 0.001) compared with cattle, and unvaccinated large ruminants a higher
morbidity (OR = 2.9; P = 0.001). The financial impact varied depending on
whether the animal survived, provision of treatment, draught replacement and
lost secondary income. The mean cost per affected household was USD 952.50
based on ownership of five large ruminants. The impact per affected animal was
USD 375.00, reducing the pre-disease value by 66.1%. A partial budget revealed
an overwhelming incentive for farmers to practice biannual vaccination, with a
net benefit of USD 951.58 per household based on an annual disease incidence
rate of 1. Sensitivity analysis showed that a net benefit of USD 32.42 remained
based on an outbreak every 20 years. This study indicates HS can cause a catastrophic
financial shock to smallholders and remains a critical constraint to
improving large ruminant productivity and profitability. Addressing HS disease
control requires a focus on improving smallholder farmer knowledge of biosecurity
and vaccination and should be priority to stakeholders interested in addressing
regional food insecurity and poverty reduction.