Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2011 Mar 9;11:157. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-157.
Infection with Mycobacterium bovis (Mb) predominantly causes cervical TB lymphadenitis (TBL). Raw milk is considered the main source of Mb infection and raw milk is a major food source for Afar pastoralists. The aim of this study was to assess Afar pastoralists' knowledge concerning cervical TBL and its treatment.
A community-based cross-sectional survey involving 818 interviewees was conducted in two districts of the Afar Region, Ethiopia. In addition, two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in each of the study areas, one with men and the other with women.
Of the 818 interviewees [357 (43.6%) females and 461 (56.4%) males], 742 (90.7%) reported that they had knowledge of cervical TBL, mentioning that swelling(s) on the neck resulting in a lesion and scar are common symptoms. However, only 11 (1.5%) individuals mentioned that bacteria or germs are the causative agents of TBL. Three interviewees and a male discussant mentioned drinking raw milk as the cause of TBL. A considerable proportion (34.2%) of the interviewees and almost all the discussants suggested herbal medicine as an effective treatment. Male study participants were 1.82 times more likely to have overall knowledge of TBL than female study participants (adjusted OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.51, p < 0.001).
The pastoral community members in the study areas had little biomedical knowledge of the cause, the source of infection and the transmission route of cervical TBL. Furthermore, most community members believed that herbal medicines are the most effective treatment for TBL. Therefore, TB control programs in the Afar Region require the incorporation of public health education introducing current biomedical knowledge of the disease. In addition, further studies are important to elucidate which medicinal plants are used by Afar pastoralists to treat TBL.
感染牛分枝杆菌（Mb）主要导致颈部结核性淋巴结炎（TBL）。生奶被认为是 Mb 感染的主要来源，而生奶是阿法尔牧民的主要食物来源。本研究旨在评估阿法尔牧民对颈部 TBL 及其治疗的认识。
在埃塞俄比亚阿法尔地区的两个区进行了一项基于社区的横断面调查，共涉及 818 名受访者。此外，在每个研究区域进行了两次焦点小组讨论（FGD），一次是与男性进行的，另一次是与女性进行的。
在 818 名受访者中[357 名（43.6%）女性和 461 名（56.4%）男性]，742 名（90.7%）表示他们了解颈部 TBL，提到颈部肿胀导致病变和疤痕是常见症状。然而，只有 11 名（1.5%）人提到细菌或病菌是 TBL 的致病原因。三名受访者和一名男性讨论者提到喝生奶是 TBL 的原因。相当一部分受访者（34.2%）和几乎所有讨论者都认为草药是有效的治疗方法。与女性受访者相比，男性研究参与者对 TBL 的总体认识高出 1.82 倍（调整后的 OR，1.82；95%CI，1.32 至 2.51，p<0.001）。
研究地区的牧民社区对颈部 TBL 的病因、感染源和传播途径只有很少的生物医学知识。此外，大多数社区成员认为草药是治疗 TBL 的最有效方法。因此，阿法尔地区的结核病控制计划需要纳入公共卫生教育，介绍该疾病的当前生物医学知识。此外，进一步的研究对于阐明阿法尔牧民用于治疗 TBL 的药用植物很重要。
