KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS AND RISK OF ZOONOTIC DISEASES AMONG LIVESTOCK FARMERS IN CHATTOGRAM DISTRICT, BANGALDESH

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge, awareness, and risk of zoonotic disease among livestock farmers in the Chattogram district. Data were collected conveniently from 100 livestock farm owners by using a semi-structured questionnaire consists of close and open-end questions related to various aspects of farm management and zoonotic disease. Collected data were then analyzed and divided into categories and summarized. This study shows that most of the farmers who participated in this study were male (94%) who obtained only primary (45%) or no (17%) education. A majority (85%) of farmers owned a medium-size herd who relied solely on farming business as their main income source (62%). Although 77% of animal sheds were located distant from the residence, none of the farmers imposed any restriction on visitor access to the farm. A majority (97%) of farmers added new animals to the herd without any health check-ups. In the case of dead animals, 74% of them were buried deep and 26% were thrown in the canal. Most (51%) of the farmers use dumping sites for disposal of waste while 32% threw waste in open water and 17% used regular sewage systems for waste disposal. Among the respondents, only 22 % respondent was partially aware whereas 78% did not know about possible transmission of disease from dairy animals to farmers and vice versa. This study found that FMD and rabies were the most well-known zoonotic disease whereas brucellosis was the lesser known among all farmers. Anthrax was mentioned by 85% of respondents while none of them mentioned brucellosis as a zoonotic disease. Most farmers were familiar with FMD (100%), anthrax (5%), and rabies (46%) vaccines while none of them heard about the brucellosis vaccination program. Only 7 and 12% of respondents had training on biosecurity and farm management. This study concluded that there are various risk factors associated with the occurrence and spread of zoonotic disease in the targeted farms. Moreover, lack of education, proper training on-farm management and biosecurity may contribute to the poor level of knowledge and awareness related to the potential risk factors associate with the different zoonotic diseases among livestock farmers in the Chattogram district.