Introduction of standardized semi-quantitative body condition scoring system for cattle and pigs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Authors: Hensley, Lisa; MERRITT, SYDNEY - University Of California (UCLA); LOMBE, BONIFACE - Veterinary Laboratory Of Central Kinshasa; KINZIE, PAGE - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); WITTE, DANAE - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); HASIVIRWE VAKANIAKI,, EMMANUEL - Institute National Research Biomedical; ADAMS, SARAINA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); MADIDI L'K'YE, ALEX - Veterinary Laboratory Of Central Kinshasa; MUKADI, PATRICK - Institute National Research Biomedical; MFWANGKANG, MILETTE - Institute National Research Biomedical; MONA, JEAN - Veterinary Laboratory Of Central Kinshasa; KANONGE, DADDY - Veterinary Laboratory Of Central Kinshasa; Melofchik, Carleigh; MUYEMBE-TAMFUM, JEAN-JACQUES - Institute National Research Biomedical; HOFF, NICOLE - University Of California (UCLA); MBALA-KINGEBENI, PLACIDE - Institute National Research Biomedical; TWABELA, AUGUSTIN - Veterinary Laboratory Of Central Kinshasa; RIMOIN, ANNE - University Of California (UCLA); HALBROOK, MEGAN - University Of California (UCLA)

Submitted to: Veterinary and Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/17/2026
Publication Date: 2/19/2026
Citation: Hensley, L.E., Merritt, S., Lombe, B., Kinzie, P., Witte, D.A., Hasivirwe Vakaniaki,, E., Adams, S., Madidi L'K'Ye, A., Mukadi, P., Mfwangkang, M., Mona, J., Kanonge, D., Melofchik, C.J., Muyembe-Tamfum, J., Hoff, N.A., Mbala-Kingebeni, P., Twabela, A., Rimoin, A.W., Halbrook, M. 2026. Introduction of standardized semi-quantitative body condition scoring system for cattle and pigs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Veterinary and Animal Science. 32. Article 100601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vas.2026.100601.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vas.2026.100601

Interpretive Summary: Animals such as cows and pigs are often assessed as "healthy" or "not-healthy" based on the fat distribution on their bodies. While this classification system, known as "Body Condition Scoring" (BCS) has been implemented for different breeds and species of animals worldwide, there is no standard system for BCS across species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In DRC, there are also specific breeds of cattle and pigs which may not be captured by traditional Western-oriented BCS systems. Here, we implemented a context-specific BCS system at 124 farms and slaughterhouses across nine provinces of the DRC. We show that this BCS system is able to capture animal health of cows and pigs, as well as is flexible to indicate changes in health among those animals with noted illness or tick infestation. Additionally, at a smaller scale, we compared the BCS scores of the same animals as designated by two separate veterinary assistants - the high correlation between the answers of these respondents indicates that the BCS system is also well understood and implemented by local partners. This BCS system can be deployed nationally to better gauge herd health of the DRC-potentially as an early indicator of animal disease outbreaks.

Technical Abstract: To improve the standardization of veterinary assessments of livestock health and welfare across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we piloted and validated the implementation of a multispecies semiquantitative six-point body condition scoring (BCS) system for use in farms, abattoirs, and free-range village herds. BCS systems indicating animal energy balance and overall systemic health are critical to rapid and accurate veterinary surveillance to prevent the spread of zoonotic disease and ensure a safe food supply, among other One Health implications. Livestock species may be intermingled in Congolese agricultural settings, requiring a standard BCS scale; we harmonized existing species-specific scales to improve traditional approaches limited to qualitative assessment only. With a team of Congolese veterinarians and technicians, we completed 124 site visits across nine provinces between June 2023 and July 2024, comparing BCS ratings with various animal health indicators to identify patterns and relationships across 1038 swine and 1157 bovine subjects. Results indicate BCS ratings varied significantly by site type (p < 0.001) and age (p < 0.001), as well as between animals with reported histories of illness (p < 0.001) and lesions at the time of sampling (p = 0.089). At selected sites, the investigation team achieved an agreement with a maximum difference of 1 score unit between raters in an assessment of inter-rater reliability (n = 36, ' = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.22-0.73) and qualitatively reported improved assessment precision with the six-point system compared to previous unstandardized processes.