Knowledge affecting foot-and-mouth disease vaccination behavior: traditional dairy farmers in the dry zone of Sri Lanka.

The aim of this study was to identify social and farm factors influencing the knowledge of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), factors influencing participation in FMD vaccination, and vaccination coverage. The study was conducted with 180 traditional dairy farmers who were engaged in cattle and buffalo farming located in three veterinary ranges of the Ampara district in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, during September and October 2019. The probit and tobit regression models were applied to determine the factors. On an average, the scores for knowledge of FMD and hygiene management were calculated as 54.5% and 49.2%, respectively. Farmers' knowledge of FMD was strongly associated with gender, level of education, and participation in the farmer training program (p < 0.01). The vaccination behavior was enhanced significantly by the number of animals, farming experience, knowledge of FMD score (p < 0.05), and hygiene management score (p < 0.1). It was revealed that social and farm factors contributed to the knowledge of FMD and vaccination behavior. Therefore, we recommend that the livestock educational training program will motivate better participation in the FMD control plan in Sri Lanka.

The goat industry in Australia: Using Bayesian network analysis to understand vulnerability to a foot and mouth disease outbreak.

Australia's goat industry is one of the largest goat product exporters in the world, managing both farmed and wild caught animals. To protect and maintain the competitive advantage afforded to the Australian goat industry by the absence of many diseases endemic elsewhere, it is important to identify the vulnerability of producers to livestock disease incursions. This study developed a framework of producer vulnerability built from the beliefs and practices of producers that may impact on their likelihood of exposure and response capacity to an emergency animal disease (EAD), using foot and mouth disease as a model. A cross-sectional questionnaire gathered information on producer/enterprise demographics, animal health management and biosecurity practices, with 107 participating in the study. The biosecurity measures that were most commonly implemented by producers were always using animal movement documentation for purchased stock (74.7 %) and isolating new stock (73.1 %). However, moderate to low uptake of biosecurity protocols related to visitors to the property were reported. Response capacity variables such as checking animals daily (72.0 %) and record keeping (91.7 %) were reported by the majority of respondents, with 40.7 % reporting yearly veterinary inspection of their animals. Using the vulnerability framework, a Bayesian Network model was developed and populated by the survey data, and the relationships between variables were investigated. Six vulnerability profiles were developed, with three levels of exposure (high, moderate, low) and two levels of response capacity (high, low), as described by producer demographics and practices. The most sensitive exposure variables on producer vulnerability included implementation of visitor biosecurity and control of feral animals. Results from this study can inform risk based perspectives and decisions around biosecurity and surveillance resource allocation within the goat industry. The results also highlight opportunities for improving Australia's preparedness for a future EAD incursion by considering producer behaviour and beliefs by applying a vulnerability framework.

Serological evidence of vaccination and perceptions concerning Foot-and-Mouth Disease control in cattle at the wildlife-livestock interface of the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Communal livestock farming areas adjoining the Greater Kruger National Park Area within South Africa are part of the Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) Protection Zone with Vaccination due to the proximity to wildlife reservoirs. FMD and its control affect the productivity of resource-poor farmers who often depend on livestock for their livelihoods. A cross-sectional study was performed with the objectives to evaluate the perceptions of farmers concerning FMD control, estimate the proportion of cattle with presumed protective antibody titres against FMD, as well as the proportion of herds with adequate herd immunity at the wildlife-livestock interface within Mpumalanga Province. One hundred and four farmers were interviewed with 73% (76/104) being cattle owners and the remainder hired cattle herders. The majority of respondents (79%, 82/104) reported a high level of satisfaction with the current animal health programmes in general. The educational level of the respondents varied by satisfaction level: the median (interquartile range; IQR) education level was standard 9 (2-12) for non-satisfied respondents, standard 3 (0-6) for little satisfied and standard 7 (2-11) for very satisfied respondents (P=0.036). Animals are not always treated at FMD inspections points, but satisfied respondents were more likely to seek veterinary assistance (P=0.001). The majority of respondents (92%, 96/104) identified the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) as a risk factor for FMD outbreaks. Liquid-phase blocking ELISA antibody titres ≥1.6log10 were used to indicate positive serology secondary to FMD vaccination. At the time of sampling and relative to this threshold, 23% (95% confidence interval (CI): 12%-34%) of the sampled cattle had positive serology to SAT-1, 41% (95%CI: 33%-48%) to SAT-2 and 29% (95%CI: 19%-39%) to SAT-3. The median (IQR) time between the previous vaccination and sampling was 189 (168-241) days. The sampled cattle had a longer inter-vaccination interval as scheduled by state veterinary services and antibody levels were low at the time of the study. The majority of respondents expressed high satisfaction with the currently applied FMD vaccination programme, which provides an opportunity for progressive adaption of animal health programmes within the study area.

Animal disease and human trauma: the psychosocial implications of the 2001 UK foot and mouth disease disaster.

The 2001 UK foot and mouth disease (FMD) crisis is commonly understood to have been a nonhuman animal problem, an economic industrial crisis that was resolved after eradication. By using a different lens, a longitudinal ethnographic study of the health and social consequences of the epidemic, the research reported here indicates that 2001 was a human tragedy as well as an animal one. In a diary-based study, it can be seen that life after the FMD crisis was accompanied by distress, feelings of bereavement, fear of a new disaster, loss of trust in authority and systems of control, and the undermining of the value of local knowledge. Diverse groups experienced distress well beyond the farming community. Such distress remained largely invisible to the range of "official" inquiries into the disaster. That an FMD epidemic of the scale of 2001 could happen again in a developed country is a deeply worrying prospect, but it is to be hoped that contingency plans are evolving along with enhanced understanding of the human, animal, and financial cost.

[The foot and mouth disease outbreak 6 years later: consequences for veterinarians]. / Terugblik op de MKZ-crisisis door betrokken dierenartsen zes jaar later. De gevolgen van de MKZ-crisis bij dierenartsen.

The consequences of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 in The Netherlands can still be noticed in the daily work of the veterinarians involved. In particular, the number off arm animals has decreased, regulations have changed, and cattle farmers have become more confrontational. While the psychosocial consequences to veterinarians of the outbreak have decreased compared with immediately after the outbreak, this decrease is not statistically significant. Moreover, 40% of the veterinarians involved still show signs of a traumatic stress reaction. Should another outbreak occur, it is important that local veterinarians are contacted, in order to improve communication with cattle farmers.

Psychosocial effects of the 2001 UK foot and mouth disease epidemic in a rural population: qualitative diary based study.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the health and social consequences of the 2001 foot and mouth disease epidemic for a rural population. DESIGN: Longitudinal qualitative analysis. SETTING: North Cumbria, the worst affected area in Britain. SAMPLE: Purposive sample of 54 respondents divided in six demographically balanced rural occupational and population groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 3071 weekly diaries contributed over 18 months; 72 semistructured interviews (with the 54 diarists and 18 others); 12 group discussions with diarists RESULTS: The disease epidemic was a human tragedy, not just an animal one. Respondents' reports showed that life after the foot and mouth disease epidemic was accompanied by distress, feelings of bereavement, fear of a new disaster, loss of trust in authority and systems of control, and the undermining of the value of local knowledge. Distress was experienced across diverse groups well beyond the farming community. Many of these effects continued to feature in the diaries throughout the 18 month period. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a rural citizens' panel allowed data capture from a wide spectrum of the rural population and showed that a greater number of workers and residents had traumatic experiences than has previously been reported. Recommendations for future disaster management include joint service reviews of what counts as a disaster, regular NHS and voluntary sector sharing of intelligence, debriefing and peer support for front line workers, increased community involvement in disposal site or disaster management, and wider, more flexible access to regeneration funding and rural health outreach work.

Impact of a foot and mouth disease crisis on post-traumatic stress symptoms in farmers.

Culling 27,000 farm animals during an epidemic of foot and mouth disease in The Netherlands in 2001 resulted in substantial psychological distress among Dutch farmers. We investigated the association of exposure to this crisis with symptoms of intrusions and avoidance as found in post-traumatic stress disorder. Survey results from the Impact of Event Scale administered to 661 Dutch dairy farmers showed that about half of those whose animals were culled suffered from severe post-traumatic distress; we conclude that such agricultural crises can have a substantial impact on mental health.