A multi-state survey of farm-level preparedness towards African swine fever outbreak in Nigeria.

Outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) have severe economic implications for Nigeria and result in significant loss of livelihoods. The non-availability of vaccines makes biosecurity the reliable key to reducing ASF outbreaks. This study evaluated preparedness for ASF outbreaks at the farm level among 247 pig farmers randomly selected from Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Kwara, and Oyo states. We categorized each pig farmer's ASF preparedness rating (ASF - PR) as "poor", "moderate", and "satisfactory" based on their score on an 11-item scale. Finally, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between the socio-demographic variables and farm-level ASF preparedness. The awareness of ASF among pig farmers was very high (87.9%, n = 217). Most farmers knew the clinical signs of the disease, the modes of transmission of ASF, and correctly identified the risk factors. They also considered the need for thorough cleaning and disinfection of piggeries (87.1%, n = 189), tightened biosecurity (85.7%, n = 186), culling all ASF-affected pigs (77.9%, n = 169) as well as the ban on the transport of pigs and their products (49.8%, n = 108) as very important in ASF control. Conversely, 27.6%, (n = 60) of the farmers thought ASF could affect humans, 12% (n = 27) of them openly discarded the carcasses of dead pigs, and there was a high antibiotic usage. Most of the pig farmers used antibiotics as prophylaxis (63.6%, n = 157), chemotherapeutics (66.4%, n = 164), growth promoters (15.4%, n = 38), and wrongly so, 13% (n = 32) of them thought that antibiotics could be used to prevent and treat ASF. At the farm level, two-thirds (68.8%, n = 170) of the farmers had strict movement restrictions, and 48.6% (n = 120) routinely quarantine new pigs before introduction into their herd. Across the five states, 36% (n = 89) of the farmers had witnessed sudden death with signs consistent with ASF amongst their pigs and only 10.1% (n = 27) had confirmatory ASF diagnosis. The mean score for the farm-level ASF-PR was 6.95 ± 2.7. Approximately one-quarter of the 247 pig farmers had satisfactory ASF - PR that might help to prevent the incursion of ASF into their farms. Most farmers had moderate ASF - PR (59.5%, n = 147) whereas 17% (n = 42) had very poor ASF-PR and were most prone to an ASF outbreak. Of the sociodemographic variables, only age was significantly associated with farm-level ASF preparedness as older pig farmers especially those aged between 50 and 59 years (OR: 4.83; 95% CI: 1.10, 21.22; p = 0.037) were more likely to have satisfactory ASF - PR than the others. Our findings showed pig farmers were not adequately prepared and the next ASF outbreak could pose more significant threat to pig populations across Nigeria. Government should urgently establish minimum biosecurity measures and improve its ASF surveillance mechanisms for commercial and backyard pig production.

A cross-sectional survey of public knowledge of the monkeypox disease in Nigeria.

The Monkeypox Disease (MPXD) gained attention due to its widened geographical distribution outside of Africa, Hence, a it was declared a global health emergency. The index case in Europe was from a Nigerian traveller. This study assessed public awareness and knowledge of the MPXD by conducting an online, cross-sectional survey of educated Nigerians. A total of 822 respondents were recruited using the snowball sampling method between the 16th to 29th of August 2022. More responses were retrieved from the Northeastern geopolitical region (30.1%, n=220) than other regions. Descriptive statistics revealed that 89% (n=731/822) of the study participants were aware of the MPXD but only 58.7% (n=429/731) of them had good knowledge of the disease with a mean knowledge score of 5.31±2.09. The main knowledge gaps were in the incubation period of the disease, the signs and symptoms, its mode of transmission, and preventive practices needed to curb the spread of the monkeypox virus (MPXV). Specifically, only 24.5% (n=179) of them knew that MPXV can be transmitted via sexual contact. Most of the study participants (79.2%, n=651) opined that we can prevent the occurrence of public health emergencies in the future. The multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that of the socio-demographic variables, the male gender (OR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.22,2.33); Ph.D. level education (1.44; 95% CI: 1.048,4.23); and being homosexual (OR:1.65; 95% CI: 1.07,3.78) were significantly associated with good knowledge of MPXD. Despite the varying prevalence across the country, the region of residence within Nigeria did not influence the knowledge of MPXD among the respondents. The knowledge gaps necessitate intensified public health risk communication with a focus on modes of transmission and the preventive measures needed to curb the spread of the MPXV.