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Limited Knowledge About Hydatidosis Among Farmers in Northwest Portugal: A Pressing Need for a One Health Approach

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Abstract

Hydatidosis is a re-emerging disease. Farmers are a vulnerable population; however, little is known about their awareness of this disease. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess sheep and goat farmers’ awareness of, perceptions of, and attitudes towards parasitic zoonoses and hydatidosis and (2) to identify the preferred means for promotion of information about hydatidosis. A cross-sectional study was conducted. An in-person questionnaire was constructed and administered to 279 individuals. A coprological survey in shepherd dogs was performed using 88 faecal samples. SPSS version 18.0 was used for statistical analysis. Farmers reported several risk practices (69% practice home slaughtering, 46% do not deworm the dogs, 58% of these dogs have contact with other animals) and very little knowledge about hydatidosis (97% have never heard about it). Nevertheless, 75% of the farmers demonstrated interest in receiving information, mainly from a veterinarian. A wide diversity of potentially zoonotic parasites (Trichuris spp., Ancylostomatidae, Toxocara spp., Taeniidae) was found in 61% of the dogs. This survey revealed farmers’ lack of knowledge in relation to hydatidosis and a high prevalence of potentially zoonotic parasites in dogs, thus pointing to the need for health education and a closer collaboration between veterinarian and public health professionals.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank to Sónia Santos for the kind design of the relevant maps and to Nuno Ferreira for the help provided with the language. This work was supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) under the Project UID/CVT/00772/2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Veterinary Medicine Department, Vasco da Gama University School, Av. José R. Sousa Fernandes, Campus Universitário—Bloco B, Lordemão, 3020-210, Coimbra, Portugal

    Teresa Letra Mateus

  2. Escola Superior Agrária de Ponte de Lima, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, 4990-706, Refóios do Lima, Portugal

    Teresa Letra Mateus

  3. Animal and Veterinary Research Centre, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta dos Prados, 5000-801, Vila Real, Portugal

    Teresa Letra Mateus & Madalena Vieira-Pinto

  4. EpiUnit, Epidemiology Research Unit, Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, Rua das Taipas, nº 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal

    Teresa Letra Mateus & João Niza-Ribeiro

  5. Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    João Niza-Ribeiro

  6. ICETA/CECA, University of Porto, Public Health Centre Dr. Gonçalves Ferreira, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano, 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal

    António Castro

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  1. Teresa Letra Mateus
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Correspondence to Teresa Letra Mateus.

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Mateus, T.L., Niza-Ribeiro, J., Castro, A. et al. Limited Knowledge About Hydatidosis Among Farmers in Northwest Portugal: A Pressing Need for a One Health Approach. EcoHealth 13, 480–489 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-016-1129-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-016-1129-5

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