Zhao Xiang, Davey Gareth
Research Centre for Languages and Cultures, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2017 Oct;49(7):1369-1375. doi: 10.1007/s11250-017-1335-3. Epub 2017 Jun 17.
Awareness of animal influenza and its prevention and control is important for ensuring livestock health, production and welfare. In China, a country stereotyped as a major source of emerging zoonotic infectious diseases, research on the public understanding of animal influenza is limited to the Han, the main ethnic group. The present qualitative study in Southwest China investigated awareness of animal influenza among the Dai, an ethnic minority. The participants (15 men and 10 women, ages 18-83) were smallholder farmers of pigs and poultry in rural areas of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. A mixture of interviews and group discussions took place in homes and villages. The participants were asked about their knowledge of avian influenza (H7N9), swine influenza (H1N1), precautions taken to protect against influenza, procedures when animals were sick and perceived risk of animal influenza. The data were analysed following coding and thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated a limited understanding of animal health and welfare among participants. Specifically, they were largely unaware of animal influenza (H7N9, H1N1) including its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment. The farmers were also uninformed of the risks they faced and unknowingly engaged in behaviours which increased direct or indirect exposure to infected animals, a risk factor for human infection. They also reported poor usage of veterinary services. In order to guarantee the health, welfare and production of their livestock, immediate action is needed to enable Dai smallholder farmers to prevent and respond to animal influenza effectively and timely.
了解动物流感及其预防控制对于确保牲畜健康、生产和福利至关重要。在中国这个被刻板地视为新兴人畜共患传染病主要源头的国家，关于公众对动物流感的认知研究仅限于主要民族汉族。目前在中国西南部进行的这项定性研究调查了少数民族傣族对动物流感的认知情况。参与者（15名男性和10名女性，年龄在18 - 83岁之间）是云南省西双版纳州景洪市农村地区的猪和家禽小农户。在家庭和村庄中进行了访谈与小组讨论相结合的活动。询问了参与者关于他们对禽流感（H7N9）、猪流感（H1N1）的了解，预防流感采取的措施，动物生病时的处理程序以及对动物流感的感知风险。数据在编码和主题分析之后进行了分析。研究结果表明参与者对动物健康和福利的了解有限。具体而言，他们对动物流感（H7N9、H1N1）包括其病因、症状、预防和治疗大多不了解。农民们也不知道他们面临的风险，并且在不知不觉中从事着增加直接或间接接触感染动物的行为，这是人类感染的一个风险因素。他们还报告了兽医服务使用不足的情况。为了保障他们牲畜的健康、福利和生产，需要立即采取行动，使傣族小农户能够有效且及时地预防和应对动物流感。
