Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices to Foodborne Zoonotic Diseases and Their Associated Factors in and Around Debre Tabor City, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Foodborne zoonotic diseases are a widespread public health problem globally. Infections are naturally transmitted between animals and humans through food. Materials and Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted from January to June 2024 to evaluate the awareness of foodborne zoonotic diseases and their associated factors in and around Debre Tabor city, Northwest Ethiopia. In this study, 771 participants were involved in which, a single individual over the age of 18 was chosen from each family using a simple random sampling method for data collection. Data were processed using Epi Info Version 7, and the analysis was conducted with SPSS Version 20 software. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were utilized to examine the influence of different factors on the dependent variable’s level. Results: A total of 771 participants took part in the study, resulting in an overall response rate of 95.7%. The number of participants having a good knowledge and practice towards meat‐borne zoonoses were 378 (49%) and 412 (58.6%), respectively. The knowledge of the respondents on tuberculosis, anthrax, taeniasis, and cysticercosis was 192 (24.9%), 335 (43.5%), 313 (40.6%), and 266 (34.5%), respectively. Educational status and access to information sources of respondents were significantly associated with knowledge as p value < 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval. Conclusion: The level of knowledge and practice was poor about foodborne zoonotic diseases in this study. This is because of the habit of backyard slaughtering and consumption of raw meat.