article · Heliyon
A survey of 388 farmers in the Ada'a district of central Ethiopia assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning zoonotic disease transmission. Informal community conversations were reported as the primary source of information. Overall, 66.8 percent of respondents showed low knowledge, and over half lacked reliable information about zoonoses. While most recognised that consuming raw meat and milk could transmit diseases, large proportions were unaware of specific risks, including bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis from raw milk, and taeniasis from raw meat. Preventative measures were widely neglected: over 80 percent had never tested animals for brucellosis or bovine tuberculosis, nearly half had never dewormed livestock, and 77.3 percent did not use personal protective equipment with sick animals. Better safety practices were significantly associated with secondary education, mature age, higher knowledge, and positive attitudes towards disease prevention.
Zoonotic diseases pass between animals and humans, creating major health and economic burdens for farming communities. Understanding where farmers lack critical health information and preventative practices highlights vulnerabilities in food safety and livestock management. Addressing these gaps helps public health officials design targeted educational programmes that reduce disease transmission risks from farm animals to rural populations.
The abstract does not indicate an explicit commercial application pathway, as it focuses on an observational survey of community knowledge gaps. However, the identified deficits highlight potential end-user demand among smallholders for affordable, field-ready diagnostic testing kits for brucellosis and tuberculosis, protective equipment, and veterinary extension services. Any such commercial or public intervention remains at an early concept stage based on these findings.
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In developing countries like Ethiopia, zoonotic diseases pose a significant health and economic burden, with high exposure of farmers to zoonotic infection given the prevailing traditional husbandry practices. A cross-sectional survey involving 388 farmers in the Ada'a district central Ethiopia was conducted to investigate their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding the transmission of zoonotic diseases. The respondents' mean age was 41.0 ± 10.0 SD years. The majority of respondents (39.4%) were between the ages of 41 and 50, and 90.0% were married. Farmers claimed that conversations with family, colleagues, and friends were the primary sources of zoonoses information. Farmers stated that the primary sources of information on zoonotic diseases as community. They had a relatively low level (66.8%) of knowledge on zoonotic diseases and half of them (54.9%) did not have good information on zoonoses. Three-quarters (75.2%) of the farmers reported that they neither consume meat and milk nor use offal and hide/skin from sick or dead animals. Similarly, 71.1% of them stated that they do not eat meat from regularly aborting sheep/goats, and never consume raw meat and milk. Most of the respondents correctly answered that raw meat (82.7%) and raw milk (79.9%) are means of disease transmission from animals to humans. However, considerable proportions of them were unaware of zoonotic transmission of bovine tuberculosis (61.3%) and brucellosis (74.7%) transmission through raw milk intakes, and risk of taeniasis (71%) due to raw meat consumption. But, considerable proportions had never dewormed (48.7%), or tested their animals for brucellosis (82.7%) and bovine tuberculosis (83.3%), and more than three quarters (77.3%) did not used personal protective equipment when handling sick animals. Farmers who had a secondary education or above (OR = 6.8, CI = 2.4-18.0, p = 0.004), aged between 41 and 50 years (OR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.2-7.2, p = 0.015), and those having good knowledge (OR = 2.1, CI = 1.3-3.5, p = 0.002), and positive attitude related to zoonotic diseases (OR = 7.8, CI = 4.7-12.9, p < 0.001) had better practices that reduce the risk of exposure to zoonotic infections than their counterparts. This study revealed a knowledge gaps, a low level of the desired attitude, and high-risk behavioral practices which call for awareness creation about zoonotic disease transmission.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25713
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