Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Jun 10;15(6):e0009500. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009500. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Brucellosis is a priority zoonotic disease in Tanzania that causes ill-health in people and affects livestock productivity. Inadequate awareness and behavior risking transmission can impede control efforts. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 333 livestock owners in three villages in the Kilombero district, Tanzania, to understand their awareness, knowledge and behavior associated with brucellosis. Six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), two in each village, were conducted, as well as an additional FGD with male herders from one of the villages. Factors associated with knowledge on brucellosis, food consumption and animal husbandry behavior risking transmission of this disease, were identified using generalized linear models. Predictors for knowledge of brucellosis were being male and having a higher educational level, while age was positively associated with a higher level of knowledge. Faith and ethnicity were associated with the performance of practices risking transmission. Following traditional religion and belonging to the Wamaasai ethnicity significantly increased the odds of carrying out these practices. Qualitative analysis gave insight into risk practices and reasoning. Of the 333 respondents, 29% reported that they had experienced abortions in their herds, 14% witnessed retained placentas, and 8% had seen still-births in their cattle within the previous year. However, survey results also showed that only 7.2% of participants had heard about brucellosis as a disease in livestock. Of those who had heard about brucellosis in livestock, 91% associated abortions with it and 71% knew that humans can get infected through raw milk consumption. People overwhelmingly attributed symptoms and transmission of brucellosis in livestock to infection with trypanosomiasis and to supernatural reasons instead. In the community, consumption of raw milk was valued and handling of aborted material was not considered a risk for infection. This agro-pastoralist community holds on to long-held beliefs and practices and lacks understanding of the biomedical concept of brucellosis. Transmission routes and symptoms of brucellosis in humans and livestock are completely unknown. The disparity between risk perception and actual transmission risk related to animal handling and consumption of animal products presents a challenge for disease awareness communication. This study recommends focused community engagement and sensitization to address the limited awareness and misconceptions among agro-pastoralists.
布鲁氏菌病是坦桑尼亚的重点人畜共患病，会导致人体健康受损并影响牲畜生产力。由于对传播风险的认识不足和行为不当，可能会阻碍控制工作的开展。我们对坦桑尼亚基利姆贝罗地区三个村庄的 333 名牲畜所有者进行了横断面调查，以了解他们对布鲁氏菌病的认识、知识和与疾病传播相关的行为。在每个村庄进行了两次焦点小组讨论（FGD），以及一次来自其中一个村庄的男性牧民的额外 FGD。使用广义线性模型确定了与布鲁氏菌病知识、食物消费和动物养殖行为相关的因素，这些行为可能会传播这种疾病。对布鲁氏菌病的认识与性别和教育水平有关，而年龄与知识水平呈正相关。信仰和种族与传播风险行为有关。遵循传统宗教和属于瓦马萨伊族裔的人进行这些行为的几率明显增加。定性分析深入了解了风险行为和原因。在 333 名受访者中，29%的人报告说他们的牛群中发生过流产，14%的人目睹过胎衣不下，8%的人在过去一年中看到过牛犊死产。然而，调查结果还表明，只有 7.2%的参与者听说过牲畜中的布鲁氏菌病。在听说过牲畜中的布鲁氏菌病的人中，91%的人将流产与之联系起来，71%的人知道人类可以通过食用生奶感染这种疾病。人们普遍将布鲁氏菌病在牲畜中的症状和传播归因于锥虫病感染和超自然原因。在社区中，生奶的消费受到重视，处理流产物质并不被认为是感染的风险。这个农牧社区坚持长期以来的信仰和做法，对布鲁氏菌病的生物医学概念缺乏了解。人畜布鲁氏菌病的传播途径和症状完全未知。与动物处理和动物产品消费相关的风险感知与实际传播风险之间的差距，给疾病意识传播带来了挑战。本研究建议进行有针对性的社区参与和宣传，以解决农牧民认识有限和存在误解的问题。
