Animal disease and livestock-keeper livelihoods in Southern Cambodia

Recently, a debate has emerged on whether Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), an animal disease that hasattracted much livestock policy attention and resources in developing countries, is of any great consequenceto the poor. This study investigates this issue with a case study of livestock-raising households inCambodia following disease outbreaks. It studies the assets, livelihood activities and income sources ofthe households and analyses the impacts, coping strategies and costs of infection at the household level.Disease burden calculations are presented for the first time in the literature and compared to benchmarkcalculations for malaria. We find that FMD imposes a substantial short-term burden on the averageinfected household, and that the burden is regressive, with costs as a proportion of income increasingas household income decreases. Comparison with malaria burdens reported in the literature suggest thatFMD can be described as a constituting a significant shock for affected households.