Abstract

Livestock manure is a valuable source of nutrients for crop production, but can also pose a public health hazard and have negative environmental impacts. This study investigated manure management practices among urban and peri-urban livestock keepers in Cambodia, to identify risk behaviours and socio-economic aspects associated with the handling of manure. A survey including 204 households was conducted, using a structured questionnaire with questions on demographics, socio-economic characteristics and household practices related to manure management. Faecal samples were obtained from pig pens and pig manure storage units for analysis of the potential zoonotic pathogens Salmonella enterica (Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)), Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis (McMaster flotation technique). The survey revealed a difference in management between cattle and pig manure. Cattle manure was most commonly used as fertiliser for crop production (66%) (p < 0.001), whereas pig manure was most commonly dumped in the environment (46%) (p < 0.001). Logistic regression models showed that households with a lower socio-economic position were more likely to dump pig manure p < 0.001), with scarcity of agricultural land (p < 0.001) and lack of carts for transportation of manure (p < 0.01) being identified as contributing factors. Salmonella enterica was detected in 9.7% of manure samples, while Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis were detected in 1.6% and 2.4% of the samples, respectively. The results presented in this study indicate that manure management by urban and peri-urban households may pose a public health threat and an environmental hazard. There is evidently a need for further knowledge support to the livestock keepers to promote good management practices. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Keywords

Manure management; Urban livestock; Pig production; Socio-economic; Public health; Cambodia

Published in

Science of the Total Environment
2018, Volume: 621, pages: 193-200

SLU Authors

• Ström Hallenberg, Gunilla

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Albihn, Ann

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • National Veterinary Institute (SVA)

• Boqvist, Sofia

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Osbjer, Kristina

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Magnusson, Ulf

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages


UKÄ Subject classification

Clinical Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.254

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/93920