Table 3.
Survey results on the attitude and practice toward brucellosis control and prevention among farmers and animal owners in Saudi Arabia (n = 522).
| Item | Farmers (n = 291) | Commercial owners (n = 118) | Private owners (n = 113) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I vaccinate my animals in general | 132 (45.4) | 92 (78) | 95 (84.1) | < 0.001 |
| I vaccinate my animals against Brucella | 18 (6.2) | 14 (11.9) | 23 (20.4) | < 0.001 |
| What Brucella vaccine do you use | < 0.001 | |||
| I do not know | 36 (12.4) | 29 (24.6) | 24 (21.2) | |
| Not available/do not use | 251 (86.3) | 83 (70.3) | 75 (66.4) | |
| Ministry of Agriculture | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.8) | 7 (6.2) | |
| Pharmacy | 4 (1.4) | 5 (4.2) | 7 (6.2) | |
| Did you receive an order from the MOH to vaccinate against Brucellosis? | 60 (20.6) | 17 (14.4) | 16 (14.2) | 0.171 |
| Animals tested positive for brucellosis last year | 15 (5.2) | 12 (10.2) | 26 (23.0) | < 0.001 |
| Who diagnosed the animal? | < 0.001 | |||
| Veterinarian | 5 (1.7) | 8 (6.8) | 13 (11.5) | |
| Self/worker | 4 (1.4) | 2 (1.7) | 6 (5.3) | |
| Ministry of Agriculture | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.8) | 4 (3.5) | |
| I do not know | 6 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.9) | |
| Not applicable | 276 (94.8) | 107 (90.7) | 89 (78.8) | |
| What happened to the brucellosis animal? | < 0.001 | |||
| Treated | 6 (2.1) | 6 (5.1) | 6 (3.4) | |
| Died | 4 (1.4) | 1 (0.8) | 1 (1.1) | |
| Slaughtered/disposed off | 0 (0.0) | 5 (4.2) | 10 (2.9) | |
| Miscarriage/fatigue | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (1.1) | |
| Nothing | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.6) | |
| Not applicable | 280 (96.2) | 106 (89.8) | 88 (90.8) | |
| How dangerous is abortion? | < 0.001 | |||
| Not dangerous | 181 (62.2) | 26 (22.0) | 10 (8.8) | |
| Serious | 33 (22.7) | 43 (36.4) | 27 (23.9) | |
| Very serious | 44 (15.1) | 49 (41.5) | 76 (67.3) | |
| How to handle diseased animal? | < 0.001 | |||
| Treat by myself | 60 (20.6) | 37 (31.4) | 48 (42.5) | |
| Veterinarian | 220 (75.6) | 78 (66.1) | 53 (46.9) | |
| Slaughter & benefit from meat | 5 (1.7) | 3 (2.5) | 8 (7.1) | |
| Get rid of it | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (3.5) | |
| Not applicable | 6 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| How do you milk your animals? | < 0.001 | |||
| By hand | 69 (23.7) | 68 (57.6) | 87 (77.0) | |
| Machine | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.8) | 1 (0.9) | |
| I do not milk animals | 222 (76.3) | 49 (41.5) | 25 (22.1) | |
| Who milks the animal? | < 0.001 | |||
| Shepherd | 68 (23.4) | 56 (47.5) | 71 (62.8) | |
| Owner | 0 (0.0) | 11 (9.3) | 16 (14.2) | |
| Not applicable | 223 (76.6) | 51 (43.2) | 26 (23) | |
| Do you wash your hands after milking? | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 84 (28.9) | 81 (68.6) | 82 (72.6) | |
| Not applicable | 192 (66.0) | 26 (22.0) | 24 (21.2) | |
| Do you touch the placenta or aborted fetuses by your hand? | 52 (17.9) | 39 (33.1) | 25 (22.1) | 0.004 |
| How do you manage aborted fetuses and placenta in cattle? | ||||
| Leave it | 10 (3.4) | 0 (0) | 6 (5.3) | 0.056 |
| Feed it to dogs | 12 (4.1) | 6 (5.1) | 19 (16.8) | < 0.001 |
| Throw it in the trash | 200 (68.7) | 83 (70.3) | 47 (41.6) | < 0.001 |
| Take it to vet | 9 (3.1) | 5 (4.2) | 1 (0.9) | 0.296 |
| Burn it | 5 (1.7) | 1 (0.8) | 5 (4.4) | 0.131 |
| Bury it | 48 (16.5) | 21 (17.8) | 30 (26.5) | 0.064 |
| Not applicable | 9 (3.1) | 5 (4.2) | 0 (0) | 0.111 |
| What will you do if you suspect that an animal has brucellosis? | ||||
| Isolation | 161 (55.3) | 51 (43.2) | 59 (52.2) | 0.085 |
| Treat at vet | 122 (41.9) | 69 (58.5) | 23 (20.4) | < 0.001 |
| Test | 7 (2.4) | 21 (17.8) | 41 (36.3) | < 0.001 |
| Slaughter | 5 (1.7) | 1 (0.8) | 3 (2.7) | 0.573 |
| Not applicable | 16 (5.5) | 1 (0.8) | 1 (0.9) | 0.016 |
| How do you cook your meat? | ||||
| Medium rare | 70 (24.1) | 21 (17.8) | 14 (12.4) | 0.025 |
| Boiled | 197 (67.7) | 84 (71.2) | 83 (73.5) | 0.489 |
| Grilled | 158 (54.3) | 51 (43.2) | 28 (24.8) | < 0.001 |
| Baked in the oven | 175 (60.1) | 54 (45.8) | 41 (36.3) | < 0.001 |
| Raw | 3 (1) | 1 (0.8) | 4 (3.5) | 0.144 |
| Which of these do you consume? | ||||
| Raw milk | 108 (37.1) | 38 (32.2) | 32 (28.3) | 0.218 |
| Testicle | 47 (16.2) | 1 (0.8) | 8 (7.1) | < 0.001 |
| Female genitals | 0 (0) | 2 (1.7) | 0 (0) | 0.032 |
| Uncooked liver | 99 (34) | 25 (21.2) | 11 (9.7) | < 0.001 |
| Uncooked intestines | 16 (5.5) | 12 (10.2) | 1 (0.9) | 0.009 |
| None of these | 129 (44.3) | 58 (49.2) | 73 (64.6) | 0.001 |
| Raw milk is as healthy as supermarket milk | 74 (25.4) | 60 (50.8) | 45 (39.8) | < 0.001 |
| Should raw milk be boiled? | 204(70.1) | 84(71.2) | 104(92.0) | < 0.001 |
| Do you make homemade cheese? | 10 (3.4) | 4 (3.4) | 7 (6.2) | 0.414 |
| Breeding methods | ||||
| Not applicable | 179 (61.5) | 17 (14.4) | 19 (16.8) | < 0.001 |
| I have males | 103 (35.4) | 99 (83.9) | 94 (83.2) | < 0.001 |
| I rent males | 8 (2.7) | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0) | < 0.00 |
| Artificial insemination | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0) | < 0.00 |
| Do you need more information on brucellosis? | 146 (50.2) | 53 (44.9) | 62 (54.9) | 0.317 |
| Which source of information do you prefer? | ||||
| MOH personnel | 68 (23.4) | 15 (12.7) | 19 (16.8) | 0.034 |
| Video | 39 (13.4) | 11 (9.3) | 2 (1.8) | 0.002 |
| Text | 34 (11.7) | 26 (22.0) | 26 (23.0) | 0.004 |
Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise specified. MOH, Ministry of Health.