Non-biological factors affecting bovine tuberculosis control and prevention in dairy cattle: Knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of dairy farmers in Ethiopia

Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a serious animal health problem in Ethiopia, ranking among the top three livestock diseases. If conditions that favor the transmission and persistence of bTB are not addressed, the situation will get worse; hence bTB control should be priority. However, interventions are influenced by several “non-biological” factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess farmers` knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) using a structured questionnaire administered to 307 respondents. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select study subjects. Accordingly, 55% of participants knew about bTB; of which 36.4% knew basic information, and the remaining (18.6%) knew nothing except the name bTB. Less than 2.0% of the farmers knew about zoonotic importance of bTB. The knowledge among dairy farmers varied depending on farm size, milk-shed (MS), training received, veterinary consultation, and years of farming experience. Using multivariable analysis, farmers from medium and large-scale farms knew more about bTB than those from small scale farms, by a factor of 2.8 and 7.7, respectively. Similarly, farmers who had been farming for more than 6 years and farmers from Selale MS had higher odds of being knowledgeable about bTB, by 5.7 and 10.4 times compared to other MS, respectively. Only 12% of participants were aware of the test and slaughter control method. Likewise, only 18% of the farmers tended to avoid buying cattle from risky sources. The finding revealed a lack of knowledge on the production loss incurred (12%) and the probability of human infection (1.9%); instead, a substantial proportion of farmers (25%) believed that bTB infection could affect the dairy market. In conclusion, the present study highlighted knowledge, attitude, and practice gaps that, if addressed using tailor-made training, might assist in reducing the consequences of the disease