Farmers' knowledge, perceptions, and practices on animal trypanosomosis and the tsetse fly vector: A cross-sectional study around Kenya's Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve at the livestock-wildlife interface

Erick K Serem; Joel L Bargul; Moses M Ngari; Osman A Abdullahi; David M Mburu

doi:10.12688/openresafrica.13397.1

Farmers' knowledge, perceptions, and practices on animal trypanosomosis and the tsetse fly vector: A cross-sectional study around Kenya's Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve at the livestock-wildlife interface

Open Res Afr. 2022 Jun 6:5:22. doi: 10.12688/openresafrica.13397.1. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Erick K Serem^{1

2}, Joel L Bargul^{3

4}, Moses M Ngari^{1

5}, Osman A Abdullahi^{1

2}, David M Mburu^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, School of Health and Human Sciences, Pwani University, Kilifi, P.O Box 195-80108 Kilifi, Kenya.
² Pwani University Bioscience Research Centre (PUBReC), Pwani University, Kilifi, P.O Box 195-80108, Kenya.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, P.O Box 62000-00200, Kenya.
⁴ Animal Health Theme, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, P.O Box 30772-00100, Kenya.
⁵ KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Clinical Trials Facility, Kilifi, P.O Box 230-80108, Kenya.
⁶ Department of Biological Sciences, Pwani University, Kilifi, P.O Box 195-80108, Kenya.

Abstract

Background: Animal African trypanosomosis (AAT) is a veterinary disease caused by trypanosomes transmitted cyclically by tsetse flies. AAT causes huge agricultural losses in sub-Saharan Africa. Both tsetse flies and trypanosomosis (T&T) are endemic in the study area inhabited by smallholder livestock farmers at the livestock-wildlife interface around Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve (ASFR) in Kilifi County on the Kenyan coast. We assessed farmers' knowledge, perceptions and control practices towards T&T. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during November and December 2017 to collect data from 404 randomly selected cattle-rearing households using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to determine farmers' knowledge, perceptions, and control practices towards T&T. Demographic factors associated with knowledge of T&T were assessed using a logistic regression model. Results: Participants consisted of 53% female, 77% married, 30% elderly (>55 years), and the majority (81%) had attained primary education or below. Most small-scale farmers (98%) knew the tsetse fly by its local name, and 76% could describe the morphology of the adult tsetse fly by size in comparison to the housefly's ( Musca domestica). Only 16% of the farmers knew tsetse flies as vectors of livestock diseases. Higher chances of adequate knowledge on T&T were associated with the participants' (i) age of 15-24 years (aOR 2.88 (95% CI 1.10-7.52), (ii) level of education including secondary (aOR 2.46 (95% CI 1.43-4.24)) and tertiary (aOR 3.80 (95% CI 1.54-9.37)), and (iii) employment status: self-employed farmers (aOR 6.54 (95% CI 4.36-9.80)). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that small-scale farmers around ASFR have limited knowledge of T&T. It is envisaged that efforts geared towards training of the farmers would bridge this knowledge gap and sharpen the perceptions and disease control tactics to contribute to the prevention and control of T&T.

Keywords: Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve; Kenya; animal trypanosomosis; small-scale farmers; tsetse flies; wildlife–livestock interface.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Science for Africa (SAF) Foundation through a DELTAS Africa Initiative grant awarded to JLB [DEL-15011], by the Wellcome Trust 107742/Z/15/Z and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. This work was also funded by the Pwani University Research Fund (PURF) awarded to EKS, grant number PURF/02/2017. The DELTAS Africa Initiative is an independent funding scheme of the AAS’s Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and supported by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) with funding from the Wellcome Trust [107755/Z/15/ZZ] and the UK government. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of AAS, NEPAD Agency, Wellcome Trust or the UK government.