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

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.