DOI: 10.3390/vetsci13080819 ISSN: 2306-7381

Territorial and Farm-Level Inequalities in Cattle Vaccination and Disease-Control Practices in Ecuador: Evidence from the 2025 National Agricultural Survey

Nestor Acosta, Teresa Guarda

National evidence on cattle vaccination, disease-control practices, and producer-reported disease remains limited in Ecuador. This study assessed holding-level participation in preventive cattle-health activities and factors associated with self-reported disease, focusing on Manabí. We analysed anonymised public-use microdata from the 2025 Continuous Agricultural Production and Area Survey (ESPAC); all four outcomes were based on producer reports and were not independently verified against veterinary or administrative records. The principal design-adjusted analysis included 10,588 positive-weight holdings across continental Ecuador. Survey-weighted proportions and multivariable logistic regression models incorporated expansion weights, strata, and primary sampling units. Estimated participation in the official foot-and-mouth disease vaccination campaign, other cattle vaccination, and disease-control activities was 86.38%, 55.96%, and 64.74%, respectively; 11.22% of holdings reported a principal cattle disease. Larger herd size was positively associated with all four outcomes (all p < 0.001). Compared with the Coast, holdings in the Amazon and Highlands had lower adjusted odds of other vaccination and disease-control activities and higher odds of self-reported disease (all p ≤ 0.002). Manabí holdings had higher adjusted odds of all three preventive outcomes than holdings in the other Coast provinces (all p < 0.001), but not of self-reported disease (p = 0.493). Preventive engagement was strongest for the centrally organised foot-and-mouth disease campaign. These findings identify territorial and farm-level inequalities relevant to veterinary-service delivery and surveillance, without establishing animal-level coverage, confirmed prevalence, or causal effects.

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