This study assessed the risk of transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) between backyard poultry (S4) farms and between S4 and semi-commercial (S3) farms in Kenya.

The Kenyan poultry industry is characterized by dualism, comprised of both smallholder and large-scale poultry producers.

The outbreak and spread of Asian-lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from Asia to Europe and Africa in 2003-2007 challenged national disease surveillance and response programs particularly in those countries where infection occurred.

The Ethiopian poultry sector is almost exclusively dominated by backyard and small-scale production using limited to no inputs in production and which is targeted for either self-consumption or the market.

Kenya has a high risk of being infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) because it:

Outbreaks of HPAI in poultry have serious implications for food security, employment, and cash income for farmers including smallholders and other stakeholders.

The Nigerian poultry industry, comprising both commercial and rural poultry systems, experienced the first highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in 2006.

This study presents a detailed review of the poultry sector in Ethiopia in order to provide background information for further research related to pro-poor HPAI risk reduction strategies in Ethiopia.

This brief is a synopsis of five country background papers that provided an inventory of information about the importance of the poultry sector in the economy and for rural livelihoods, the structure of the poultry sector and the associated level

Kenya is vulnerable to avian flu given its position along migratory bird routes and proximity to other high risk countries. This raises concern about the effect an outbreak could have on economic development.

The primary goal of this paper is to provide a quantitative assessment of the economywide impact of HPAI in Ghana under different scenarios.

In the absence of market data on the price of poultry before and after the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), one method of capturing the costs of HPAI on farmers’ income is the use of non-market valuation techniques, such as th

While some African countries have not yet experienced outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), they remain vulnerable, both in terms of susceptibility and potential economic losses. Kenya is one of these vulnerable countries.

Ethiopia supports one of the largest livestock populations in all of Africa (Alemu et al. 2008). In fact, the livestock sector accounts for 19 percent of national GDP, and as much as 40 percent of agricultural GDP (FAO 2004).

Impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) can cause reverberations throughout the poultry marketing chain.

Since its emergence in Africa in 2006, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus of the H5N1 subtype has spread rapidly to poultry farms in several countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria (FAO 2006; OIE 2006

Understanding people’s knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceptions (KAPP) about and toward risk is an important step in determining which cost-effective measure to adopt.

Small-scale poultry production is an integral part of livelihoods in Nigeria, contributing to households’ income, food and nutrition security, and gender equality (Kushi et al. 1998; Houndonougbo 2005; Obi et al. 2008).