Adoption of veterinary vaccines, determining factors, and barriers in Southwest Ethiopia: Implications for livestock health and disease management strategies.

ABSTRACT

In Ethiopia, the use of veterinary vaccines to control animal diseases is an effective strategy. A study conducted in Southwest Ethiopia from October 2020 to October 2021 aimed to determine the adoption level of veterinary vaccines and factors affecting their use. The study used multistage random sampling to select districts and interviewed 476 farmers who had either adopted or not adopted the vaccines. The study found that certain diseases should be prioritized for vaccination to safeguard the health of cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. These include anthrax (19.12 %), blackleg (17.65 %), foot and mouth disease (10.50 %), and lumpy skin disease (8.82 %) in cattle, and pasteurellosis (18.07 %), contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (15.97 %), peste des petits ruminants (14.15 %), and Orf (13.45 %) in sheep and goats. Newcastle disease (21.85 %), infectious bursal disease (19.33 %), and coccidiosis (17.02 %) were identified as high-priority diseases for flock health. Overall, 30.7 % of farmers were adopters of veterinary vaccines, while 69.3 % were non-adopters. The study identified several factors that influence the likelihood of adopting veterinary vaccines, including breed type (OR = 9.1, p < 0.0001), production size (OR = 9.7, p < 0.0001), production type (OR = 2.7, p < 0.0001), and farm location (OR = 9.8, p = 0.001). Common barriers to vaccination included a lack of disease knowledge, high vaccine costs, limited vaccine availability, and administration difficulties. Insights from the study can guide strategies for promoting veterinary vaccine adoption in Ethiopia. Stakeholders should pay attention to these findings since vaccine use is crucial for controlling animal diseases, enhancing animal health, and preventing economic losses. Further research is needed to investigate factors affecting enhanced veterinary vaccine adoption.