Knowledge, attitude, and practice of goat farmers towards contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in Amhara region, Ethiopia

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is known for its high mortality, morbidity, and economic losses. A cross-sectional study using a multistage cluster sampling technique was conducted in Amhara Regional State from January to June 2019 to assess the  knowledge, attitude, and practices of goat farmers towards CCPP in the region. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect  information from the goat farmers found in 12 districts. A total of 386 goat producer respondents participated in the questionnaire  survey. Out of all the households of goat farmers interviewed, 370 (95.8%) were headed by males, while 16 (4.2%) were headed by  females. Of all the respondents, 73.58% did not know the disease. The remaining 26.42% were familiar with the CCPP and had seen the  disease in their goats or nearby goat flocks, and from this 4%, they experienced CCPP with their goats. Half of the participants who  experienced the disease in their flock reported that mixing with neighboring flocks was the major source of CCPP infection. The goat  farmers who are familiar with the disease had a high-risk perception of CCPP with a mean score of 4 out of 5 for the seriousness of the  disease and 4.12 out of 5 for the risk of infection. These farmers showed a good perception of the effectiveness of prevention practices  with a mean score of 4 out of 5 for the usefulness of vaccinations and reporting disease outbreaks to veterinary authorities. This  collective understanding demonstrates their awareness of the disease and the proactive measures they are willing to take to mitigate its  impact on their flocks. They have a good practice of vaccinating and treating their goats. Most of the farmers use veterinary clinic services  to control CCPP occurrence in their herds. Although the farmers familiar with the disease have a good understanding of the risk  of the disease and a positive attitude towards control measures, most farmers are not aware of the disease and hence better animal  extension about the disease is needed in the study area.