Tackling tick-borne disease in Tanzania with low-cost animal sensing (TBD)

Tick-borne disease (TBD) is a major economic and animal health/welfare concern across Sub-Saharan Africa. East Coast Fever alone is responsible for 1.1M cattle deaths and losses of $168M p.a. through mortality, veterinary-interventions, productivity losses (growth/milk) and poorer resilience to secondary infection. Current control relies on acaricide dipping, which is expensive and often inaccessible. Early intervention is essential to limit impacts of TBD, particularly within small-holder dairies where mortality in the more expensive exotic breeds is significantly higher than indigenous breeds. The project focusses on the application of low-cost sensing (ear-tags) for early-disease-detection to limit devastating impacts of TBD.
We will work with Taliri in Tanzania to help scope the following: 1) routes to market in Tanzania for low cost technology; 2) interest within smallholder dairy farms for a solution to TBD; 3) economic impacts of TBD in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa and cost-benefit of technology use; 4) potential benefits (social, economic, environmental, health/welfare, sustainability).