Livestock contribute 40 percent of the global value of agricultural output, 5 percent of total food energy and 25 percent of dietary protein, and support the livelihoods and food security of almost a billion people. There are more than 1.3 billion cattle, 1.7 billion small ruminants, 900 million pigs and 15 billion poultry in the world.Ethiopia is one among the nations that possesses the largest number of livestock population in the African continent estimated to be 56 million cattle, 29 million sheep and 29 million goats. In contrast to the huge livestock resource, the livestock productivity is found to be very low.Animal diseases seriously limit the potential contribution of the livestock sector. The diseases impact food supplies, trade and commerce, and human health and well-being in every part of the world. TADs like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Swine Influenza cause a direct economic impact by reducing agricultural and animal production. The 2001 FMD outbreak in the United Kingdom was estimated to have cost more than $12 billion (Anderson, 2002). Devastating losses were caused by the 2003-4 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks that occurred in Asia, Europe, Canada, and the USA; the 2002– 03 Newcastle disease (ND) incidence in USA; and the 2000 Rift Valley Fever attack in the Arabian Peninsula. Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) costs 27 Africa countries an estimated losses of up to $2 billion annually. In 1994, Rinderpest killed an estimated 40,000 cattle and yaks in Pakistan. Similarly, the Egyptian trade ban of animal and animal products, in 2005/2006, caused Ethiopia a loss of more than 14 million $US. In response to the destructive effects of TADs, different countries implement various TADs management strategies. The international approach to management of TADs is based on the assumption that most can be eradicated.  However, in developing countries, eradication of most TADs is difficult for a variety of technical, financial and logistical reasons. General TADs combating strategies include prevention, early warning, early detection and early control.

Keywords: Trans boundary Animal Diseases (TADs), Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), Impact, Outbreak, Management

Abbreviations: Contagious bovine pleura pneumonia = CBPP; Foot and Mouth Disease = FMD; Highly pathogenic avian influenza influenza = HPAI; Newcastle disease = ND; Peste des Petits Ruminants = PPR; Transboundary Animal Diseases = TADs.