Livestock farmers' knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to zoonoses in the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Zoonoses pose a significant health challenge globally, with livestock playing a major role in disease transmission. Understanding livestock farmers' knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) is crucial for prevention and control. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 150 livestock farmers in Ghana's Coastal Savannah agroecological zone. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from logistic regression analysis assessed the association between farmers' KAP and socio-economic and farm characteristics. RESULTS: While 66.0% of farmers had satisfactory knowledge of specific zoonoses and 74.0% perceived preventive practices as protective, only 49.0% perceived the diseases as zoonotic and 39.3% practiced prevention satisfactorily. Farmers with fewer disease encounters (adjusted OR [aOR] 0.499 [95% CI 0.347 to 0.717]), males (aOR 3.238 [95% CI 1.213 to 8.648]) and intensive farmers (aOR 5.396 [95% CI 1.276 to 22.808]) have higher odds of having satisfactory knowledge. Conversely, males (aOR 0.261 [95% CI 0.077 to 0.885]) and farmers with more disease encounters (aOR 0.664 [95% CI 0.490 to 0.898]) have lower odds of having satisfactory perception. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights a knowledge-practice gap among livestock farmers regarding zoonoses, influenced by factors like gender, production systems and disease encounters. Targeted training is recommended for women, extensive systems and disease-prone farms.