Study of knowledge about bovine brucellosis among people involved in the cattle supply chain in the province of Manabí, Ecuador.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge about brucellosis among livestock farmers and their families, veterinary personnel, food processors and other people involved in the cattle supply chain in the province of Manabí. A voluntary, open-ended survey of participants was conducted in seven cantons in Manabí province selected at random: Bolívar, Chone, El Carmen, Jama, Junín, Sucre and Tosagua. Of the 500 people who responded to the survey, only 30% said they knew the disease. Greater knowledge about the disease was observed among people with a higher educational level, veterinarians, livestock farmers/traders and men. For all the aspects surveyed, only a small percentage of respondents (ranging from 0.6% to 30.2%) indicated that they had knowledge of that aspect of the disease. Only 29.8% of the respondents stated that they knew the clinical signs of the disease in cattle, which could jeopardise the brucellosis surveillance system. Only 7.6% of respondents knew the measures for reducing the risk of contracting brucellosis, leading to widespread high-risk practices when working with animals. The conclusion is that there is a low level of knowledge about the disease among people involved in the cattle supply chain in the province under study.