Coenurosis, a fatal parasitic disease, is widespread in the highlands of Ethiopia, where 75% of the country’s sheep population is found. There is a significant prevalence of the disease in the current study area. Therefore, the current study was conducted to reduce the impact of cerebral coenurosis on sheep production in the study area by integrating different prevention and control options and raising community awareness of the disease. Questionnaire surveys, coproscopic examination of dog feces, and household-level surveillance were used to collect data on reported coenurosis cases and taeniid infections. Awareness creation training and regular dog deworming were used as an intervention to reduce the prevalence of the disease. A total of 107, 134, 153, and 124 dogs were dewormed during the first, second, third, and fourth rounds during the study period, respectively. Eggs were detected in 58.53% (95% CI 47.4- 68.86) of pre-deworming fecal samples of dogs. Eggs were detected in 24.18% (95% CI: 40.0–49.7) of the fecal samples after the intervention, 34.35% less than before the intervention. At the beginning of the intervention, the level of awareness of farmers in the intervention sites about the cause of the disease was 12.2%, which increased to 51.03% at the end of the intervention. The community-based integrated animal health management approach for coenurosis control has the potential to be expanded throughout the country, thus reducing economic losses in communities where the disease is endemic.

A representative number of animals were randomly selected from each intervention village for physical examination and fecal sampling before and after deworming. The pre- and posttreatment samples were not paired, with independent cross-sectional sampling at both pre- and post-treatment. The sampling was performed at the time of treatment and 14 days later. Deworming and sampling were performed four times per year, every three months.

Fecal samples were taken from dogs for fecal egg count and parasite identification and speciation. The fecal samples were collected directly from the rectum. From each animal, 5–10 g of fecal material was collected in a clean polythene bag containing 10% formalin as a preservative.

A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to those small ruminant owners to reveal information on the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of the disease in the last 1 / 2 years, perception and awareness about the cause, risk factors, and transmission of the disease, the level of animal-dog interaction, the existence of wildlife (foxes and rabbits) and their interaction with the domestic and socioeconomic impact of the disease. The households were selected by random sampling from the households list at the Kebele administration office. Thirty households were randomly selected from each Kebele study Kebele. A local ethics committee ruled that formal ethics approval was not required for this research. Before conducting the investigation, informed consent was obtained from the animal owners in this study.