Knowledge, perceptions, and practices of deworming and parasitic disease control activities among peri-urban livestock keepers in Barishal district, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Bangladeshi farmers are not getting optimum outcomes from livestock farming due to various obstacles in farming, including a lack of modern technological and scientific knowledge. Therefore, this research was aimed at comprehending the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of deworming and parasitic disease control activities among peri-urban livestock farmers in the Barishal district of Bangladesh. Methods: Data on the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of deworming and parasitic disease control activities of 207 peri-urban livestock farmers were collected randomly from different areas of the Barishal district. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered via a face-to-face interview between June 2020 and December 2020 to collect data. The frequencies were expressed in percentage (%) and the association between farmer’s education and knowledge of parasitic disease prevention, control, and deworming activities were evaluated by crosstab analysis in IBM SPSS software (version 25). Results: The study revealed that 27.5% of the farmers provided impure water to their animals. Almost 100.0% of farmers were found to wash their hands before and after contacting the animals. About 29.0% of farmers were not accustomed to cleaning the farms and excreta regularly. Only 18.8% of respondents permitted their animals to co-graze with other animals. Approximately 45% of participants used anthelmintics regularly, and 32.4% of participants were informed of the scheduled deworming practices for their animals. Surprisingly, 96.6% of respondents never participated in deworming and parasitic disease control training programs. However, 100% of farmers agreed that parasitic disease control is essential for profitable farming and increasing production. Conclusion: A large proportion of farmers rear their livestock without deworming practices, and they are not aware of helminthiasis control and prevention. Therefore, intensive extension work is needed to educate them on helminthiasis and deworming activities.