This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

EMPHNET 7th Regional Conference 2021: “Towards Public Health Resilience in the EMR: Breaking Barriers” (62)

Published on in Vol 8, No 1 (2022): Jan-Dec

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/36644, first published .
Assessment of Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Related to Milk-borne Zoonosis in District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Assessment of Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Related to Milk-borne Zoonosis in District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Assessment of Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Related to Milk-borne Zoonosis in District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Authors of this article:

Javaria Alam1 ;   Javaria Alam1 ;   Syed Nadeem ur Rehman2 ;   Ambreen Chaudhry3 ;   Muhammad Athar Abbas4 ;   Zahida Fatima3 ;   Muhammad Wasif Malik3 ;   Muazzam Abbas Ranjha3 ;   Zeeshan Iqbal Baig3 ;   Nosheen Ashraf3 ;   Mumtaz Ali Khan3 ;   Jamil A Ansari3 ;   Aamer Ikram3
Article Authors Cited by Tweetations Metrics

    Abstract

    1Department of Livestock and Dairy Development, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan

    2Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Pakistan, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan

    3Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Islamabad, Pakistan

    4National Reference Lab for Poultry, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Corresponding Author:

    Javaria Alam

    Department of Livestock and Dairy Development, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

    Village Battangi Ward No. 2

    P/O Chikar District Hattian Bala Tehsil Chikar

    Muzaffarabad, 13100

    Pakistan

    Phone: 92 3446346453

    Email: jaweria.alam@gmail.com


    Background: Milk-borne zoonotic diseases can be acquired by the consumption of nonpasteurized and infected dairy products. Zoonotic infections present a serious public health concern that is responsible for approximately 2.7 billion deaths annually worldwide. However, little is known about the attitudes and knowledge of the farmers regarding milk-borne zoonosis.

    Objective: This study was performed with an aim to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of farmers regarding milk-borne zoonosis.

    Methods: This cross-sectional KAP study was conducted in District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, from September 1 to October 30, 2019. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect information from respondents regarding different aspects of milk-borne zoonosis. All small dairy farms (n=56) with more than 5 animals in District Muzaffarabad were included in this study. Data were collected from respondents (n=100), with an inclusion criterion of having a dairy experience of more than 6 months.

    Results: The findings show that almost 86% of the farmers were unable to name any milk-borne zoonotic disease. About 45.5% of the farmers were unaware of the fact that milk can be a potential source of disease transmission. None of the respondents had any idea about the pasteurization method, and 50% of them had no habit of checking milk quality. However, 81% of the respondents preferred to use boiled milk. Almost 28% of the farmers with high-level education were able to name at least one milk-borne zoonotic disease. The majority of the respondents (99%) did not receive any formal training about zoonotic diseases.

    Conclusions: According to the study, the overall knowledge of farmers regarding milk-borne zoonosis is not adequate. Despite having a positive attitude, the practices of the respondents regarding milk handling were found to be poor. Awareness about important zoonotic diseases and their source of transmission should be created, and a one-health approach to deal with zoonotic infections should be adopted.

    iproc 2022;8(1):e36644

    doi:10.2196/36644

    Keywords

    Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training program; attitude; knowledge; milk-borne zoonosis; Muzaffarabad; practices, AJK; KAP 

    Edited by Y Khader; This is a non–peer-reviewed article. submitted 19.01.22; accepted 19.01.22; published 07.02.22

    Copyright

    ©Javaria Alam, Javaria Alam, Syed Nadeem ur Rehman, Ambreen Chaudhry, Muhammad Athar Abbas, Zahida Fatima, Muhammad Wasif Malik, Muazzam Abbas Ranjha, Zeeshan Iqbal Baig, Nosheen Ashraf, Mumtaz Ali Khan, Jamil A Ansari, Aamer Ikram. Originally published in Iproceedings (https://www.iproc.org), 07.02.2022.

    This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in Iproceedings, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.iproc.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.