Assessment of dairy farm’s hygienic practice and knowledge of farm workers on milk-borne zoonoses in three selected towns of the Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Consumption of unhygienic milk is the most common source of milk-borne zoonotic diseases. These zoonoses have public health  importance and are a major obstacle to trade in livestock and livestock products. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was  conducted from December 2021 to June 2022 to assess milk-borne zoonotic diseases, the habit of milk consumption, and the hygienic  practices of dairy farm workers in three purposefully selected towns in the Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. Dairy farms and farm  workers were selected by a simple random sampling technique. A total of 100 respondents, one per farm, were selected and participated  in the interview. The result indicated that 41% of farms used individual towels and 21% used common towels to dry their cows’ udders;  however, the remaining 38% of farms did not use any towels at all. The majority (59%) of farms clean the floor once a day and around 92% remove dung manually. Of total farm workers, 43% had no formal education, 28% had primary-level education, 5% had secondary- level education, 2% were college diploma holders, and 22% were first-degree and above graduate workers. Concerning milk consumption  habits, 64% of respondents used raw milk, 29% used raw and boiled milk, 3% of interviewees consumed all types of milk  (raw, boiled, refrigerated, and processed milk), and 4% didn’t drink milk at all. Furthermore, 50% of respondents were aware of disease  transmission through the consumption of raw milk. Regarding respondents’ knowledge of milk-borne zoonoses, 51% of interviewees  didn’t know about zoonotic diseases, while the remaining 4% knew about tuberculosis, 32% were aware of salmonellosis, 5% knew about  both tuberculosis and salmonellosis, and 8% were aware of tuberculosis, anthrax, mastitis, salmonellosis, and brucellosis. Concerning the  knowledge of respondents on disease transmission, 73% of respondents didn’t know that zoonotic diseases can transmit from humans to  animals and vice versa. Furthermore, when compared to other educational levels, participants with a degree or higher (86.7%) had  better awareness of disease transmission from raw milk consumption, and there was a statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.05).  The farms had poor awareness of dairy farm hygienic standards and milk-borne zoonoses. To lessen the animal and public health  concerns associated with milk-borne zoonoses, it is critical to create awareness, provide extension services, and provide training  programs.