Comment on: ‘Livestock farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to zoonoses in the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana’

Dear Editor

I read with interest the article titled ‘Livestock farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to zoonoses in the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana’¹ published in International Health. Zoonotic diseases are prevalent in Africa and yet data about awareness and knowledge of disease prevention and control are limited. The present-day Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo underscores the significance of the work to other African countries, zoonotic infections and types of animals and transmission. The study’s finding of inadequate livestock farming practices for preventing zoonotic diseases calls for immediate action to support farmers and rural communities in combatting priority zoonotic diseases in Ghana such as anthrax, avian influenza and TB, which affect livestock and poultry and can be transmitted to humans. Recommendations include developing interventions to enhance awareness, knowledge and responsible animal farming practices; surveillance, early detection and timely diagnosis and treatment of zoonotic diseases; and proper handling of infected animals including disposal of infected carcasses, in combination with national and local government initiatives such as health systems strengthening, policies and laws and national capacity building for preparedness and response. Notably, there is a need in Ghana for integrated and unifying approaches such as One Health, to draw upon multisectoral collaboration and expertise concerning the health of humans, domestic and wild animals and the environment.² Alarmingly, most of the survey respondents in the study reported a poor understanding of anthrax as a zoonotic disease, even though Ghana experienced an anthrax outbreak in June 2023 resulting from the consumption of infected dead cattle. This highlights a need for widening and evaluating public awareness campaigns initiated by the Ghanaian government and international organisations about anthrax prevention.³

The authors’ conclusion that their survey respondents reported satisfactory knowledge and attitudes regarding zoonotic diseases and a high awareness of disease transmission is reassuring. However, there remains significant scope in their survey design to differentiate more clearly and specifically between attitudes, knowledge, perceptions and practices, for example, in conceptual and operational definitions and measurement, for accurate data collection and analysis and reliable and valid findings. It is also necessary to advance beyond descriptive statistics to analyse relationships between these variables, such as whether attitudes or knowledge predict adherence to protective measures against disease transmissibility (or whether causality runs in the other direction, as protective measures might contribute to attitude formation). It is also important to identify potential targets for evidence-based interventions for attitude and behaviour change, knowledge provision and other strategies.⁴ Such interventions will need to be affordable, cost-effective and relatively easy to deliver and evaluate in resource-limited areas such as rural Ghana. Future studies can combine quantitative survey data with qualitative data^5,6 to provide in‐depth information, for example, about interactions between humans and livestock, slaughtering and butchering of infected animals, availability of appropriate veterinary services and gender inequality (as the authors reported some gender differences in their findings). It is important also to consider the implications of cultural traditions and indigenous health beliefs for understanding and cubing zoonotic transmission in culturally sensitive approaches.⁵ Despite my constructive criticism in this letter, the study is important and serves as a catalyst for further research and practice to safeguard human and livestock health in Ghana and Africa.

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Competing interests

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