Evaluation of Direct Economic Losses Due to Foot and Mouth Disease Reported by the Epidemiological Surveillance System in Cameroon From 2009 to 2023

ABSTRACT

Foot and mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease, is prevalent in Cameroon. Outbreaks are often observed, and the livestock industry is at serious risk of production loss. This study aimed to estimate the economic costs of FMD from 2009 to 2023. The economic impact of FMD is determined by evaluating immediate, evident production losses, such as mortality losses, decreases in milk production, and veterinary costs, which are usually faced by farmers. The expected total direct economic losses were USD 898170.228, with a standard deviation of USD 145000.078. The average economic loss per outbreak was USD 3302.096. The estimated average monetary value of mortality‐related losses for an adult is USD 482.713, and for a calf, it is USD 112.255. Lower milk production resulted in losses ranging from USD 71.686 to USD 134.630 per cow. Finally, it was estimated that the cost of treating secondary infections in each sick cow would be USD 8.393. These economic losses, which also represent a sizable financial loss for persons employed in the sector, result in taxes and financial losses for the State.

The economic impact of FMD in Cameroon from 2009 to 2023 is determined by evaluating immediate, evident production losses, such as mortality losses, drop in milk production, and veterinary cost, which are usually faced by farmers. The expected total direct economic losses were USD 898,170.

Abbreviations

CFAF

Communauté Financière Africaine Franc

CFSPH

Center for Food Security and Public Health

CI

confidence interval

FAO

Food and Alimentation Organization

FMD

foot and mouth disease

OIE

Office International des Epizooties (WOAH: World Organization for Animal Health)

SAT

Southern African Territories

USD

US dollar

1. Introduction

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a transboundary, highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild domestic animals (OIE 2021; Tekleghiorghis et al. 2014). Despite the recovery of adult animals, morbidity is very high in naive or unexposed populations, with clinical signs observed in many species (e.g. cattle, small ruminants, pigs). Mortality is very high in young domestic animals and in some wildlife populations (CFSPH 2021). FMD virus is transmitted directly by infected animals, saliva, contaminated air, faeces, semen, and fluids from mouth ulcers or vesicles, amniotic fluid, and runt (CFSPH 2021). It is caused by a virus of the genus Aphthovirus, a nonenveloped virus of the Picornaviridae family, which includes seven serotypes: O, A, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, and ASIA1 (CFSPH 2021; Coffman 2020; OIE 2021; Tekleghiorghis et al. 2014). The disease has been eradicated in Western Europe, Oceania and North America, but is still endemic in Africa, Asia, and some South American countries and sporadic in Eastern Europe (CFSPH 2021; Coffman 2020; OIE 2021; Kabir et al. 2025).

FMD is a serious threat to livestock farming, with direct and indirect losses estimated at 62 billion US dollars worldwide (CFSPH 2021). Direct losses include decrease in milk production, reduced traction, weight loss, mortality, and fertility. Indirect losses include additional costs (vaccines, movement restrictions, laboratory diagnosis, etc.) and income from trade (Knight‐Jones and Rushton 2013; Rushton and Jones 2016). In selected districts in North West Ethiopia, the economic losses associated with FMD mortality, reduced traction, decrease in milk production, and veterinary cost were estimated (Tadesse et al. 2020). The morbidity rate was estimated at 68.1% for the integrated farming‐livestock system and 54.5% for commercial dairy farms. The economic losses were estimated to be USD 34 for the integrated farming–livestock system and USD 459.1 for commercial dairy farms. In Cameroon, a previous study reported a seroprevalence of 74.55% and an economic impact (USD 1905.164) of FMD on dairy cattle farms in the 3 northern regions of the country (Mebanga et al. 2022). The direct economic losses included the cost of treatment (USD 268.005), mortality (USD 1175.894) and reduced milk production (USD 776.469). However, the lack of an overall estimation of the economic impact of the disease at the national level might hamper efforts to eradicate the disease.

Therefore, this study was carried out with the aim to estimate the economic impact of FMD over the period from 1 January,, 2009, to 31 December, 2023 in Cameroon.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Design and Data Collection

To estimate economic losses due to foot and mouth disease, retrospective data were collected through the animal disease surveillance system in Cameroon between 2009 and 2023. Information on cases of animal diseases (susceptible cases, suspected/confirmed cases and deaths) was obtained from the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the Cameroon Animal Disease Epidemio‐surveillance Network (RESCAM) and the National Veterinary Laboratory (LANAVET) databases. The annual reports of the decentralised services of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry (MINEPIA) enabled us to estimate the average monetary values of the animals. These values are the result of transactions recorded at livestock markets. For economic estimation, we used the Vina Division, Adamawa Region to obtain the following information: the average composition of the cattle herd (ratio of cows to bulls, ratio of milking cows to total cows in the herd), the average length of lactation in normal and epizootic situations, the average quantity of milk per day in normal and epizootic situations, the average price of a litre of milk and the cost of treatment.

The Adamawa, East, Far North, North, North West and West Regions were selected for this study. The inclusion criteria used were: at least one susceptible case and one suspected or confirmed case with or without a mortality report from the records. These regions must also have the data required to calculate the monetary values.

A survey of 30 randomly selected farmers in the Vina Department of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon was conducted to estimate the mean values for certain variables. These variables included the length of lactation during (135 days) and without (165 days) the epizootic period, the ration of bulls to cow (0.8), proportion of milking cows in the herd (0.45), the daily quantity of milk sold per cow in normal (1.75 L) and epizootic (1.0 L) conditions, the average price of a litre of milk (USD 0.466) and the veterinary costs (USD 8.393).

2.2. Exchange Rate

Losses were estimated in local currency, the CFA franc (FCFA), and then converted into US dollars (USD) at an average exchange rate of 546.7218667 FCFA.

2.3. Estimation of Morbidity and Mortality Rates From 2009 to 2023

For the various epizootics, the numbers of susceptible, sick, and dead animals were recorded annually and computed for morbidity and mortality. At the regional level, morbidity was defined as the proportion of clinically affected cattle to the total number of susceptible cattle and the proportion of dead cattle to total the number of susceptible cattle.

2.4. Estimation of Economic Losses

The economic impact of FMD was determined by estimating the direct visible production losses: losses due to mortality, decrease in milk production, and veterinary costs commonly practiced by farmers. The formulas used were adapted from those of similar works performed in Ethiopia (Tadesse et al. 2020) and Cameroon(Mebanga et al. 2022). The data used for our calculations were both retrospective and prospective. The particularity of this estimate lies in the period of data collection, since the cattle population under consideration is large in the extensive system, and in the simplification of certain variables owing to the lack of information.

2.4.1. Losses Due to Mortality

Economic losses due to mortality in FMD‐affected cattle were calculated as follows:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}& & ELiMortalities=NDeath\times \hfill \\ & & \left(Prop.adult\times MiViAdult+Prop.calf\times MiViCalf\right),\hfill \end{array}$$ (1)

where ELiMortalities is economic losses due to mortalities per Region; NDead is number of cattle that died per Region per study period; Prop.adult/calf is proportions of adults and calves; MiViadult/calf is average monetary values of adult cattle or calves per Region.

For the six Regions, economic losses due to mortality (ELMortalities) are equal to:

$$ELMortalities=\sum _{i=1}^{6}ELiMortalities.$$ (2)

2.4.2. Milk Production Losses

The economic losses due to a decrease in milk production in the affected Region were calculated as follows:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill ELiMilk& & =Nisick.cow\times PriceMilk\times \left(MiPns-MiPes\right)\hfill \\ & & +Nidead.cows\times PriceMilk\times MiPes,\hfill \end{array}$$ (3)

where ELiMilk is economic losses due to a decrease in milk production per Region; Nisick.cow is number of sick cows; Nidead.cows is number of dead cows; PriceMilk is price per litter of milk; MiPns is milk production in a normal situation = QMsn × Dns.milk.collection; QMns is quantity of milk marketed in a normal situation; Dns.milk.collection is duration in a normal situation; MiPes is milk production in an epidemic situation = QMes × Des.milk.collection; QMes is quantity of milk marketed in an epidemic situation; Des.milk.collection is duration in an epidemic situation.

The total economic loss due to a decrease in milk production due to FMD was calculated as follows:

$$ELMilk=\sum _{i=1}^{6}ELiMilk.$$ (4)

Table 1 shows the estimated numbers of sick cows and dead cows after calculation, which are 8523.72 and 36.8, respectively. This information was used to calculate the economic losses due to decrease in milk production.

TABLE 1.

Different variables used in calculating the economic losses due to decrease in milk production in the six Regions of Cameroon.

Region	Number of sick adults	Bull/cow ratio	Milking cow ratio	Number of dead adults
Adamawa	3057	0.8	0.45	8
East	436	0.8	0.45	1
Far North	12,129	0.8	0.45	17
North	2272	0.8	0.45	2
North West	2938	0.8	0.45	10
West	2845	0.8	0.45	8
Total	23,677	0.8	0.45	46

2.4.3. Losses Resulting From Veterinary Costs

During FMD outbreaks, cattle are neither vaccinated nor treated. However, farmers generally resort to antibiotic‐based treatments, to limit secondary bacterial complications. The sick and in‐contact animals were treated with antibiotics. The veterinary cost here represents only the cost of purchasing drugs for the treatment of secondary bacterial infections, as in most cases it is the farmer who administers the treatment. The economic losses due to veterinary cost in the Region are calculated as follows:

$$ELiVeterinarycost=Cavg\times Nisick.animal,$$ (5)

where ELiVeterinary cost is the economic loss due to the veterinary cost of secondary infections of the Region, Cavg is the average cost of treating individual sick cattle, and Nisick.animal is the number of sick cattle recorded for the Region during the study period. The economic losses due to the veterinary cost of the six Regions were calculated via the following formula:

$$ELVeterinarycost=\sum _{i=1}^{6}ELiVeterinarycost.$$ (6)

2.4.4. Total Economic Losses

The total economic losses per Region represent the sum of all losses from milk production, mortalities, and treatment costs. These are expressed by the following formulas:

$$TELi=ELiMortalities+ELiMilk+ELiVeterinarycost,$$ (7)

where TELi represents the total economic losses per Region; ELiMortalities represents the economic losses due to mortality; ELiMilk represents the economic losses due to the decrease in milk production; and ELiVeterinary cost represents the economic losses due to treatment costs.

The total economic losses of Cameroon represent the sum of all the total economic losses of the six Regions.

$$TEL=\sum _{i=1}^{6}TELi.$$ (8)

The total economic losses per epizootic outbreak are determined via the following formula:

$$TELepizooticoutbreak=\frac{TEL}{Totalrecordedepizooticoutbreaks}.$$ (9)

3. Results

3.1. Estimation of Morbidity and Mortality Rates From 2009 to 2023

A total of 49,674 susceptible, 24,585 affected, and 908 dead cattle were recorded during the fourteen‐year period, with an overall morbidity and mortality rates of 49.49% and 1.83%, respectively (Table 2).

TABLE 2.

Foot and mouth disease morbidity and mortality in affected cattle from six Regions in Cameroon.

Region	Number of susceptible cattle	Number of FMD clinically affected cattle	Morbidity rate (95% CI)	Number of dead cattle	Mortality rate (95% CI)
Adamawa	4998	3216	64.35 (63.02–66.68)	159	3.18 (2.69–3.67)
East	927	454	48.97 (45.75–52.19)	18	1.94 (0.89–2.83)
Far North	19,043	12,461	65.44 (64.76–66.11)	332	1.74 (1.52–1.88)
North	8747	2314	26.45 (25.52–27.37)	42	0.48 (0.3–0.52)
North West	5584	3158	56.55 (55.25–57.85)	220	3.94 (3.43–4.45)
West	10,375	2982	28.74 (27.87–29.61)	137	1.32 (1.10–1.54)
Overall	49,674	24,585	49.49 (49.05–49.93)	908	1.83 (1.71–1.95)

3.2. Monetary Value of Animals and Economic Losses Due to Mortality

The estimated average monetary values of the adult cattle and calves were: USD 482.713 per adult and USD 112.255 per calf (Table 3). The average monetary values ranged from USD 276.895 (Far North) to USD 604.540 (East) for adults and from USD 65.275 (Far North and North) to USD 160.656 (North West) for calves (Table 3). Overall economic losses due to mortality were estimated at USD 99165.260. The greatest economic loss was recorded in the Far North Region (USD 25268.876), and the lowest loss was recorded in the North Region (USD 3372.051) (Table 4).

TABLE 3.

Monetary value of calves and adult cattle in six Regions of Cameroon.

Region	Average monetary value (MiVi) USD
	Calf	Adult cattle
Adamawa	83.925	499.371
East	223.800	604.540
Far North	65.275	276.895
North	65.275	413.633
North West	160.656	560.366
West	74.600	541.471
Average monetary value of overall	112.255	482.713

TABLE 4.

Total economic losses (EL) by region.

Region	EL due to mortalities (USD)	EL due to drop in milk production (USD)	EL due to veterinary cost (USD)	Total economic losses USD	Standard deviation USD
Adamawa	16346.652	78217.535	25161.788	119725.976	33467.958
East	4324.228	11140.765	3588.662	19053.655	4164.143
Far North	24782.204	308780.018	99832.298	433394.52	147165.68
North	3372.051	57715.453	18700.551	79788.054	28018.835
North West	37165.850	75416.913	24182.314	136765.077	26635.502
West	13174.275	72851.828	23416.843	109442.946	31911.697
Total	99165.260	604122.512	194882.456	898170.228
Standard deviation	12863.469	104962.886	33957.218	145000.078

3.2.1. Losses Due to Decrease in Milk Production, Veterinary Cost and Total Economic Losses

A decrease in milk production resulted in an estimated economic loss of USD 604122.512. The Far North Region recorded the most direct economic loss due to decrease in milk (USD 308780.018), whereas the East Region was the least affected (USD 11140.765). The economic losses due to veterinary costs are estimated at USD 194882.456 or USD 8.393 per sick animal. The Far North Region recorded the most direct economic loss (USD 99832.298), whereas the East Region was the least affected (USD 3588.662). The total estimated economic loss is USD 898170.228, with a standard deviation of USD 145000.078. The total number of epizootic outbreaks recorded was 272 for the six Regions between 2009 and 2023, for an estimated total economic loss of USD 3302.096 per outbreak (Table 4).

4. Discussion

This study was conducted to assess direct losses due to foot and mouth disease (FMD) in six of the ten Regions of Cameroon from 2009 to 2023. The morbidity rate of 49.49% is lower than the 55.43% reported in Bangladesh (Giasuddin et al. 2020), 57.2% reported in Ethiopia (Tadesse et al. 2020) and 70.30% in Niger (Kouato et al. 2018), but similar to the 53.20% reported among cattle in Pakistan (Gorsi et al. 2011). However, this rate is higher than the 19.99% reported in India (Govindaraj et al. 2021) and 27.04% reported in Pakistan (Rahman et al. 2020). These variations in morbidity rates may be due to differences in cattle breeds, serotypes circulating during epizootics, and differences in passive immunity developed during the previous episode (Tadesse et al. 2020) and / or the lack of biosecurity measures on farms. Climatic conditions contribute to the maintenance and spread of the virus (OIE 2021).

The mortality rate of 1.83% obtained is higher than the 0.4%, 0.7% and 0.96% obtained in Ethiopia, India and Pakistan, respectively (Govindaraj et al. 2021; Mushtaq et al. 2014; Tadesse et al. 2020) but lower than the 3.59%, 6.37% and 15.25% reported in Niger, India and Pakistan, respectively (Gorsi et al. 2011; Kouato et al. 2018; Rahman et al. 2020). This difference in mortality rate could be due to the duration of study and age composition of the herd. Young animals (calves) are more susceptible and record a high mortality rate (OIE 2021). Additionally, production systems associated with mixed farming, geographic location, season of the year, cattle breed and FMD viral strains in circulation are factors influencing morbidity and mortality rates (Zewdie et al. 2023).

The total economic loss estimated at USD 898170.228 is greater than the USD 1905.164 reported in the Adamawa, North, and Far North Regions of Cameroon (Mebanga et al. 2022). This study covers six Regions of Cameroon and analyse both retrospective and prospective data collected over 15 years. We used data collected by the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries whereas, Mebanga et al. worked with intensive dairy cattle farmers. The decrease in milk production (USD 604,122), veterinary cost (USD 194,882) and mortality (USD 99,165) deferred from the rankings by Mebanga and others in terms of mortality (USD 1175), milk production (USD 776) and veterinary cost (USD 268). The total economic loss per outbreak (USD 3302) was greater than that obtained (€499) in Niger (Kouato et al. 2018). This difference could be due to the number of variables used in the model and the method used to estimate the economic losses.

The Far North was the most affected Region by FMD, followed by the North West, Adamawa, West and North. There are several reasons for this difference in losses across Regions. The first is the variation in the monetary value of animals, which is moderate in the Far North, Adamawa and North Regions, whereas it is high in the North West, West and East Regions. The second reason is the density of animals per km², which is greater in the first group (Far North, Adamawa and North) than in the North West and West Regions and lower in the East Region. The last possible reason is related to livestock farming activities or practices, namely, transnational and cross‐border transhumance, which are very common in the three Northern Regions and in the North West and West Regions due to their proximity to Nigeria.

For losses due to mortality, the average monetary value of an adult is estimated at USD 482, and that of a calf is estimated at USD 112.255. These two values are similar to those (€56.10–768.03 and USD 32.61–804.27) obtained by Kouato et al. (2018) in Niger and Govindaraj et al. (2021) in a severe situation for local cattle indigenous breeds in India (Govindaraj et al. 2021; Kouato et al. 2018). In contrast, in a moderate situation (USD 75.32–376.58), only the monetary value of the calf is similar (Govindaraj et al. 2021). The main problem arising from mortality is the renewal of cattle herds, with a mortality rate of 2 to 5% during FMD epidemics (Rushton and Knight‐Jones 2015).

In terms of losses due to decrease in milk production, there are two situations. The first concerned sick cows, for which the monetary drop in milk produced was USD 71.686. The second situation involved dead cows, for which the monetary drop in milk produced was USD 134.630 per cow. This made it possible to define the interval USD 71.686–134.630. The monetary values obtained are higher than those (USD 6.87–47.44) obtained for native cattle breeds in India (Govindaraj et al. 2021) but similar to those (€32.63–562.81) obtained in Niger (Kouato et al. 2018). Production losses reduce the quantity of milk produced, which can affect the diets of both humans and calves. In an enzootic situation, these losses account for 33% of the total losses (Knight‐Jones and Rushton 2013). In addition, the production yield of chronically affected cows can reach 80%.

The monetary value of the veterinary cost due to the management of secondary bacterial infections (USD 8.393) was lower than the value of USD 9.18 obtained by Govindaraj et al. (2021). This difference may be due to the cost of purchasing veterinary products and the person responsible for administering care (the farmer, the veterinarian, etc.).

The limitation of our study lies in the fact that indirect production losses were not considered (costs dedicated to surveillance and vigilance, the impact of the disease on the local market price of animals, etc.). This is compounded by the lack of vaccination and the absence of public health measures (quarantine, slaughter, etc.) in certain socio‐political contexts (Ismail et al. 2025). This made it impossible to make an overall estimate of economic losses; hence, the estimate of economic losses was linked to direct losses due to mortality, milk production, and treatment costs.

In Cameroon, FMD has caused enormous economic losses, despite its moderate morbidity and mortality rates. It is a cross‐border disease against which the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization are fighting to control or even eradicate it by providing multifaceted support to governments. The information obtained in this study can be used as a decision‐making tool to define an appropriate control strategy. Additionally, strengthening the capacity of epidemiological surveillance and diagnostic systems in the context of an outbreak of the disease could be a key factor in identifying cases of FMD.

5. Conclusion

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that hinders trade. Cameroon is enzootic and causes significant direct and indirect economic losses. In this study, there were direct economic losses, due to mortality, decrease in milk production, and veterinary costs. This represents enormous financial loss for livestock farmers and the State. To reduce these losses, authorities need to operationalise disease control strategies while adapting health and medical measures. The use of vaccination against FMD and the implementation of farm‐level biosecurity protocols as a control measure would be very important, as they would help reduce morbidity and mortality. It is therefore up to the authorities to include FMD in the list of bovine diseases for which regular vaccination campaigns are organised. In addition, cross‐border collaboration can make it easier to pool the strategies and resources of different countries to control or eradicate this disease at the sub‐regional or regional level.

Author Contributions

Conceptualisation, H.N.B., M.M.M.M. and J.P.M.K.; methodology, H.N.B., M.M.M.M. and J.P.M.K.; software, H.N.B.; validation, H.N.B., M.M.M.M., S.E.M., K.J.M.F. and J.P.M.K.; formal analysis, H.N.B.; investigation, H.N.B.; resources, H.N.B., M.M.M.M. and J.P.M.K.; data curation, H.N.B.; writing original draft preparation, H.N.B.; writing‐review and editing, H.N.B., M.M.M.M., S.E.M., K.J.M.F., F.M. and J.P.M.K.; visualisation, H.N.B., S.E.M., K.J.M.F. and M.M.M.M.; supervision, M.M.M.M. and J.P.M.K.; project administration, H.N.B., M.M.M.M. and J.P.M.K.; funding acquisition, H.N.B., M.M.M.M. and J.P.M.K. All authors have read and agreed with the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The authors have nothing to report.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Informed Consent Statement

The authorisation letter used in this study was obtained from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries, and Animal Industries (MINEPIA).

Institutional Review Board Statement

To use RESCAM data, MINEPIA annual reports, or any other source of information related to our topic, we obtained authorisation from the Minister of Livestock to conduct this study.

Bayang, H. N. , Mouiche Mouliom M. M., Mpouam S. E., Feussom Kameni J. M., Moffo F., and Kilekoung J. P. M.. 2025. “Evaluation of Direct Economic Losses Due to Foot and Mouth Disease Reported by the Epidemiological Surveillance System in Cameroon From 2009 to 2023.” Veterinary Medicine and Science 11, no. 6: e70681. 10.1002/vms3.70681

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this article are not publicly available for ethical reasons and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.