Livestock boom risks aggravating animal ‘plagues,’ poses threat to food security and world’s poor

Increasing numbers of domestic livestock and more resource-intensive production methods are encouraging animal epidemics around the world, a problem that is particularly acute in developing countries, where livestock diseases present a growing threat to the food security of already vulnerable populations, according to new assessments reported February 10 at the International Conference on Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition & Health.

"Wealthy countries are effectively dealing with livestock diseases, but in Africa and Asia, the capacity of veterinary services to track and control outbreaks is lagging dangerously behind livestock intensification," said John McDermott, deputy director general for research at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which spearheaded the work. "This lack of capacity is particularly dangerous because many poor people in the world still rely on farm animals to feed their families, while rising demand for meat, milk and eggs among urban consumers in the developing world is fueling a rapid intensification of livestock production." ...

"In the poorest regions of the world, livestock plagues that were better controlled in the past are regaining ground," they warn, with "lethal and devastating impacts" on livestock and the farmers and traders that depend on them. These "population-decimating plagues" include diseases that kill both people and their animals and destroy livelihoods. ...