Characterization of Cattle Production and Assessment of Risk Factors Influencing Brucellosis in the Provinces of Batha and Guera in Chad

Abstract

Cattle farming in Chad is threatened by environmental factors, diseases, and how farmers manage their operations. This study was carried out to characterize cattle production systems in order to assess farmers' knowledge and practices as well as risk factors related to bovine brucellosis in the provinces of Batha and Guéra in Chad. To achieve this objective, 67 farmers were surveyed using questionnaires focusing on their sociocultural profiles, farming systems, knowledge and practices regarding brucellosis and risk factors. The results showed that the proportion of men (95.5%) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of women (4.5%). In terms of ethnicity, Arab farmers (74.6%) were more represented, and they were all Muslim (100%) and had never attended school. Transhumant farming (59.7%) was the most common farming system. Approximately 50.7% of farmers reported infertility in males, with 59.7% lending bulls for breeding. Abortions in herds accounted for 26.9% of cases, and 68.7% of breeders discarded the aborted fetuses in the wild. 39% of farmers were unaware of brucellosis and did not apply any biosecurity or sanitary measures. This study highlights that cattle farming in both localities is dominated by men using transhumant farming. Farmers have no knowledge about brucellosis and do not apply any biosecurity measures. Localities, farming systems, gender, breed, age, and herd size are some of the risk factors contributing to the dissemination of bovine brucellosis and thus impeding production objectives.