Cecilia Baumberger, Gustavo Anríquez, Pablo Galdames, Tamara Palma, María Antonieta Gonzalez, Katherinne Orozco, Cristobal Oyarzun, Camila Rojas, Victor Marambio, Soledad Ruiz, Francisca Di Pillo, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Pedro Jimenez-Bluhm, Jonathan Rushton, Christopher Hamilton-West
Aim: Backyard production systems (BPS) represent an interface of contact between people, domestic and wild animals. Studies conducted in Chile during the last decade have provided extensive evidence of influenza A virus (IAV) circulation in backyard poultry and swine. The aim of this study was to investigate exposure practices of humans to animal-origin IAV within backyards.
Methods and results: Backyard farmers and household members of a total of 101 BPS in the proximity of wetlands located throughout Chile were interviewed between 2021 and 2022. Data were collected on the nature of human-animal contacts through participation in productive activities conducted within backyards, which was used to estimate participants' exposure risk to animal-origin IAV. Additionally, RT-qPCR and serologic IAV active surveillance was carried out in backyard animals. Multilinear regression was used to identify factors associated with exposure risk. Overall, IAV prevalence was 10.1% (95% CI: 4.7%-15.5%) and seroprevalence was 43.5% (95% CI: 29.7%-54.2%), both at the BPS level. Of 180 interviewees, 86% reported participating regularly in poultry or swine exposure activities within the backyard. A greater participation of male participants was observed when evaluating swine exposure activities, while female participation was greater for some activities related to poultry handling. Handwashing was a very extended hygiene practice; however, the use of personal protective equipment was uncommon. Different factors related to participants, households and backyards were associated with an increased exposure risk of participants to animal-origin IAV: (i) older age, (ii) less years of education, (iii) no off-farm work, (iv) greater backyard production value and (v) greater household consumption of backyard products.
Conclusion: These results indicate the circulation of IAV in BPS and the frequent human-animal contact at this interface, highlighting the need for awareness campaigns and educational programmes aimed at backyard farmers on prevention and biosecurity measures in the management of backyard animals.
{"title":"Exposure Practices to Animal-Origin Influenza A Virus at the Animal-Human Interface in Poultry and Swine Backyard Farms.","authors":"Cecilia Baumberger, Gustavo Anríquez, Pablo Galdames, Tamara Palma, María Antonieta Gonzalez, Katherinne Orozco, Cristobal Oyarzun, Camila Rojas, Victor Marambio, Soledad Ruiz, Francisca Di Pillo, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Pedro Jimenez-Bluhm, Jonathan Rushton, Christopher Hamilton-West","doi":"10.1111/zph.13182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13182","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Backyard production systems (BPS) represent an interface of contact between people, domestic and wild animals. Studies conducted in Chile during the last decade have provided extensive evidence of influenza A virus (IAV) circulation in backyard poultry and swine. The aim of this study was to investigate exposure practices of humans to animal-origin IAV within backyards.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>Backyard farmers and household members of a total of 101 BPS in the proximity of wetlands located throughout Chile were interviewed between 2021 and 2022. Data were collected on the nature of human-animal contacts through participation in productive activities conducted within backyards, which was used to estimate participants' exposure risk to animal-origin IAV. Additionally, RT-qPCR and serologic IAV active surveillance was carried out in backyard animals. Multilinear regression was used to identify factors associated with exposure risk. Overall, IAV prevalence was 10.1% (95% CI: 4.7%-15.5%) and seroprevalence was 43.5% (95% CI: 29.7%-54.2%), both at the BPS level. Of 180 interviewees, 86% reported participating regularly in poultry or swine exposure activities within the backyard. A greater participation of male participants was observed when evaluating swine exposure activities, while female participation was greater for some activities related to poultry handling. Handwashing was a very extended hygiene practice; however, the use of personal protective equipment was uncommon. Different factors related to participants, households and backyards were associated with an increased exposure risk of participants to animal-origin IAV: (i) older age, (ii) less years of education, (iii) no off-farm work, (iv) greater backyard production value and (v) greater household consumption of backyard products.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results indicate the circulation of IAV in BPS and the frequent human-animal contact at this interface, highlighting the need for awareness campaigns and educational programmes aimed at backyard farmers on prevention and biosecurity measures in the management of backyard animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":24025,"journal":{"name":"Zoonoses and Public Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142296969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}