Livestock farming is central to global food security and to the sustainability of rural communities throughout Europe. Animal health management has a major impact on farming efficiency. Although animal health research has provided effective prevention strategies for the major endemic diseases of livestock, these strategies typically provide solutions for single infectious diseases and they are often not adequately implemented due to farm-specific constraints. We propose a concept termed "ECONOHEALTH" which aims at including the economic and social context in our understanding of the factors that drive animal health. The concept is elaborated on using the example of the major helminthic diseases of cattle in temperate climate regions (gastrointestinal nematodes, liver fluke and lungworm). By considering major diseases simultaneously and placing disease-complexes in an economic and a social context, we believe that insights will be generated upon which more integrated, situation-adapted and thus more effective prevention strategies can be devised.
Keywords: Economics of animal health; Farmer behaviour; Fasciola hepatica; Helminth; Livestock; Nematodes; Social context.
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