Vet World   Vol.17   July-2024  Article - 3 

Research Article

Veterinary World, 17(7): 1435-1448

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.1435-1448

Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices on vaccine usage among small ruminant farmers in the Northern Region of Bangladesh

Md. Sodrul Islam1, Apurbo Kumar Mondal1, Md. Rabiul Auwul2, Tahrima Islam1, Obaidul Islam3, Afroja Yasmin4, Md. Abdullah Al Mahmud5, A.K.M. Ziaul Haque6, Mahmuda Begum7, Jahid Hasan Tipu8, Ysharzya Mojumder9, Manna Roy10, and Md. Ashraful Islam11,12
1. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
2. Department of Statistics, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
3. Laboratory of Veterinary Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea.
4. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
5. Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
6. Kazi Farms Poultry Laboratory, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
7. Department of Livestock Production and Management, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
8. Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway.
9. Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
10. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
11. Department of Livestock Services, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
12. Laboratory of Veterinary Laboratory Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea. 

Background and Aim: Small ruminants require vaccines to prevent and manage diseases. Unfortunately, no studies have been conducted in Bangladesh to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of small ruminant farmers (SRF) regarding vaccine use against infectious diseases, affecting the success of vaccination campaigns. The present study aims to assess SRF’s KAP regarding vaccines, revealing gaps and barriers to efficient vaccination. 

Materials and Methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight SRF in northern Bangladesh were surveyed in a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from random participants through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. KAP levels were categorized as “good” or “poor” and “positive” or “negative” using a scoring method with a 60% cutoff. The analysis comprised the utilization of descriptive statistics as well as logistic regression models. 

Results: Results showed that most participants were female (60.5%), aged 31–40 (34.2%), with secondary education (28.1%), and vaccination training (22.8%). While 75% knew about vaccines, only 37.3% understood their role in preventing infectious diseases, and 63.6% in reducing antibiotic use 68.4% of farmers were aware of negative drawbacks, and 61.8% reported vaccinating their herds. About 42.1% of the farmers had good knowledge, 52.6% had a positive attitude, and 22.8% followed good practices. Female farmers with graduate degrees and 6–10 years of goat farming experience, but not those with vaccination training, demonstrated stronger knowledge. Female farmers with a graduate degree and 6–10 years of goat farming experience displayed positive attitudes. Female goat farmers from Thakurgaon had a higher likelihood of following good vaccination practices than those with vaccination training. 

Conclusion: The study unearths disparities in KAP scores among farmers. To effectively address KAP gaps concerning vaccine usage and prevent potential infectious diseases, it is essential to design focused educational and training programs. About 52.6% of SRF hold a positive view toward vaccines. 

Keywords: Bangladesh, knowledge, attitudes, and practices, small ruminant farmers, vaccine use.


How to cite this article: Islam MS, Mondal AK, Auwul MR, Islam T, Islam O, Yasmin A, Al Mahmud MA, Ziaul Haque AKM, Begum M, Tipu JH, Mojumder Y, Roy M, and Islam MA (2024) Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices on vaccine usage among small ruminant farmers in the Northern Region of Bangladesh, Veterinary World, 17(7): 1435–1448.

Received: 2024-03-10    Accepted: 2024-06-05    Published online: 2024-07-06

Corresponding author: Md. Sodrul Islam    E-mail: msislam@bsmrau.edu.bd

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1435-1448

Copyright: Islam, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.