Economic losses due to important diseases of bovines in central India

Disease acts as a negative influence on the livestock production system, thus setting off a cascading affect of low production, low income, and subsistent livelihood. The consequences of animal diseases in livestock can be complex and generally go well beyond the immediate effects on affected producers. These diseases have numerous impacts, including productivity losses for the livestock sector ( production losses, cost of treatment, market disturbances), loss of income from activities using animal resources ( energy, transportation, tourism), prevention or control costs (production costs, public expenditure) and suboptimal use of production potential (animal species, genetics, livestock practices) [1]. Highly contagious livestock diseases such as foot and mouth disease (FMD), hemorrhagic septicemia (HS), mastitis, peste des petits ruminant (PPR) and surra in cloven footed domestic animals cause irreparable economic losses to the farming community. They also occupy the top position among the livestock diseases due to wide host range, plurality of immunological types, short duration of immunity and economic losses and their impact on livestock production and productivity. In the above context, a comprehensive economic assessment of animal diseases is of utmost importance before formulating the various livestock health intervention efforts. Several studies in the Indian context are available on the prevalence of major livestock diseases and the economic loss due these diseases [2-11]. However, scant literature is available on economic implications of important diseases based on data from the field level. The risk factor and impact of husbandry practices on occurrence and spread of outbreak have also not been well defined in these studies. A better understanding of the epidemiological and economic parameters elated to important diseases is the need of the day. The present study was undertaken to assess the status and economic impact of important diseases on production parameters in bovines in India with the following specific objectives: i. To analyze the socio economic factors associated with the occurrence of important diseases in Bovines. ii. To estimate the economic losses due to important livestock diseases in bovines. viz.