Abstract
A questionnaire survey of 315 cattle owners from the rural districts of KwaZulu-Natal was carried out. The aim of the survey was to improve our understanding of local farmers' perceptions and practices of animal disease prevention and control and to establish the extent of their relationship with veterinary services. The survey showed that many owners practice preventive measures such as deworming, tick control and vaccination. Traditional medicines were in use by over half the respondents (58.9 %). Diseases are regarded as an important management problem (56.1 %); ticks, worms and diarrhoea dominated the mentioned health problems in cattle. Veterinary services still play an important role and are a frequent source of advice to owners. The findings of the survey and their context are discussed.
Highlights
The former homelands of South Africa are generally regarded as resource-poor areas with poor infrastructure, a high unemployment rate and with subsistence fanning dominating other agricultural activities
MATERIALS AND METHODS The survey population comprised a convenience sample of cattle owners of the rural areas of KwaZulu -Natal. tn total 315 livestock owners were interviewed on a voluntary basis at diptanks in 9 surveillance zones throughout the province between March 2001 and December 2003
This questionna ire survey was conducted as part of a large-scale serological survey investigating the prevalence of brucellosis, tick bornediseascs, Ahican horse sickness, enzootic bovine leu kaemia, Rift Valley fever, leprospirosis and dourine in KwaZulu-Natal
Summary
The former homelands of South Africa are generally regarded as resource-poor areas with poor infrastructure, a high unemployment rate and with subsistence fanning dominating other agricultural activities. Production indicators, such as herd mortaLity and calving rate are generally far below those of commercial farmersll. Before help can be implemented in an effective manner, areas where improvement is needed must be identified. From a veterinary pOint of view, this involves estimating the prevalence of infectious d iseases, and understanding the re lated perceptions, culture and needs of the communities, which has been proven very important for any successful disease control' 3.
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