The School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Australia.
Faculty of Veterinary & Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
PLoS One. 2021 Oct 20;16(10):e0258765. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258765. eCollection 2021.
Livestock rearing is an important income source for small-scale farmers in Myanmar, but Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Newcastle disease (ND) are major constraints to livestock production. A study was conducted to identify perceptions of farmers about FMD and ND disease risks and perceptions about vaccination practices by using the modified health belief model. The majority of livestock farmers (>70%) reported that they were aware of the risk and impact of FMD and ND and were willing to vaccinate their livestock (>60%). Focusing on three main livestock farmer groups, about 17.0% of cattle, 15.4% of village chicken, but only 2.3% of small ruminant owners, indicated that the non-availability of vaccinations in the villages was the major constraint to vaccinations (p<0.001), while in contrast twice as many small ruminant farmers compared to cattle and village chicken farmers indicated they had no knowledge about vaccinations and no funds to conduct vaccinations. Limited accessibility to vaccines and vaccinators was related to size of villages (p = 0.001 for cattle; p = 0.027 for small ruminants; p = 0.005 for village chicken). Willingness to vaccinate small ruminants against FMD was associated with the perceived impact of the disease on sales and accessibility of information about vaccination. Accessibility to information about ND vaccination influenced the willingness of village chicken farmers to conduct vaccinations. In addition, beliefs in the effectiveness of vaccinations played a major role in the willingness to carry out vaccinations on both, cattle (β = 0.3, p = 0.018) and village chicken farms (β = 0.5, p<0.001). Our study highlights that policies that increase the accessibility of vaccines and the dissemination of information about disease prevention and vaccination practices in villages of all sizes, have the potential to increase FMD and ND vaccination rates and thereby reduce outbreak occurrence in Myanmar. On the other hand, indirect factors, such as village size strongly influenced the availability of vaccinations.
畜牧业是缅甸小规模农户的重要收入来源，但口蹄疫（FMD）和新城疫（ND）是畜牧业生产的主要制约因素。本研究采用修正后的健康信念模型，调查了农民对 FMD 和 ND 疾病风险的认知以及对疫苗接种实践的看法。大多数畜牧业农民（>70%）报告说，他们意识到 FMD 和 ND 的风险和影响，并愿意为其牲畜接种疫苗（>60%）。聚焦于三个主要的畜牧业农民群体，约 17.0%的牛、15.4%的乡村鸡、但只有 2.3%的小反刍动物饲养者表示，村里无法获得疫苗是疫苗接种的主要障碍（p<0.001），而相比之下，小反刍动物饲养者比牛和乡村鸡饲养者有两倍的人表示他们不知道疫苗接种情况，也没有资金进行疫苗接种。疫苗和接种者的有限可及性与村庄的规模有关（牛为 p = 0.001；小反刍动物为 p = 0.027；乡村鸡为 p = 0.005）。接种 FMD 疫苗的意愿与对疾病对销售的影响以及有关疫苗接种的信息可及性有关。获得有关 ND 疫苗接种的信息会影响乡村鸡农民进行疫苗接种的意愿。此外，对疫苗接种有效性的信念在牛（β = 0.3，p = 0.018）和乡村鸡农场（β = 0.5，p<0.001）接种疫苗的意愿中起着重要作用。我们的研究表明，增加所有规模村庄的疫苗可及性和有关疾病预防和疫苗接种实践信息的传播的政策，有可能提高 FMD 和 ND 疫苗接种率，从而减少缅甸的疫情爆发。另一方面，间接因素，如村庄规模，强烈影响疫苗的供应。
