Influence of climate change on livestock diseases occurrence in Burkina faso, West Africa.

Abstract

Climate change poses a significant threat to livestock production and animal health globally, with particular implications for Burkina Faso. This study explores the links between climate patterns and the resurgence of five major livestock diseases in Burkina Faso, using climatic records from 1961 to 2020 and veterinary clinical data from 2003 to 2019 collected across the Sahel, Sudan-sahel and Sudan climatic zones. The annual and seasonal climate trends were compared over two climatological periods (1961-1990 and 1991-2020) using two independent t-test. It is was found significant changes in rainfall and temperature patterns from one climatological period to the other, with the Sudan zone influenced by maximum annual temperatures, the Sahel zone by minimum annual temperatures, and the Sudan-Sahel zone by both. Poisson regression analysis revealed complex interactions between disease occurrence and climatic factors, with certain diseases like foot-and-mouth disease and Pasteurellosis of small ruminants favoured by warm and humid conditions, while Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia was influenced by dry spells. Lumpy skin disease (LSD) manifests in response to cold and wet days. Newcastle disease's occurrence is determined by varying combinations of temperature extremes. These findings underscore the importance of climate change in influencing livestock disease occurrence across different climatic zones in Burkina Faso. They highlight the need for resilient livestock breeding practices, improved management strategies, and climate-smart interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on animal health and enhance overall agricultural sustainability.