































Microsoft Word - Asrat Solomon _ A Study on assessment of community KAP toward bovine tuberculosis_ DOI


East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci. (2024), Vol. 5, Issue. 2, 29-40 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Asrat Solomon Kenasew 1*, Said Mohammed Harar1, Alemitu Ketema Tamirat1, Metadel Molto1 

 
1College of Agricultural and Natural Resource, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Jinka University, 
P.O. Box: 165, Jinka, Ethiopia 

KEYWORDS:  

Attitude;  

Bovine Tuberculosis;  

Jinka town;  

Knowledge;  

Practice 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

Bovine tuberculosis is yet a major public health problem throughout the world, including 
African countries like Ethiopia. Limited public knowledge about the disease, coupled with 
negative attitudes and poor health practices, are contributing to this issue. A cross-
sectional study was carried out from March 2023 to July 2023 to assess the community 
knowledge, attitude, and practice on Bovine Tuberculosis in Jinka Town. Questionnaire 
survey and retrospective data were used as a tool for data collection.  Among 382 
respondents, 254 (66.5%) knew about Bovine tuberculosis, whereas 128 (33.5%) 
respondents did not have any idea about the disease.  Except sex, other predictors like age, 
marital status, educational level and occupation were significantly associated with 
knowledge and preventive practices towards Bovine tuberculosis. Respondents had 
misconceptions on zoonotic importance of the disease and 95 (24.87%) respondents 
consume raw milk. Regarding retrospective data result, among 1278 patients examined for 
Tuberculosis, 316 (24.7%) and 5 (0.39%) were positive for pulmonary and extra 
pulmonary Tuberculosis in 2020 G.C. During 2021 G.C, among 1066 patients examined 
for Tuberculosis, 190 (17.8%) and 12 (1.12%) patients were positive for pulmonary and 
extra pulmonary Tuberculosis respectively. Number of patients for pulmonary and 
extrapulmonary were increased to 18.25% and 4% respectively in 2022 G.C. Since there 
were misconceptions among the respondents, awareness creation and detailed 
investigation on the status of Bovine and human Tuberculosis was recommended.  
 

INTRODUCTION 

Background of the Study 

Ethiopia has 70 million cattle, 42.9 million 
sheep, 52.5 million goats, 2.15 million horses, 
10.8 million donkeys, 0.38 million mules and 
8.1 million camels (CSA, 2020). Despite this 
abundant cattle population in the country, the 
livestock sub-sector is generally less productive, 
its capacity is small, and its direct contribution 

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) remains to be a 
major public health problem throughout the 
world, including Ethiopia. The condition is 
worse in low income countries like Ethiopia, 
where lower knowledge, attitude, and practice 

East African Journal of Biophysical and Computational Sciences 

Journal homepage : https://journals.hu.edu.et/hu-journals/index.php/eajbcs 
  

Assessment of Community Knowledge, Attitude and Practices toward Bovine Tuberculosis in 
Jinka Town, Southern Ethiopia 

 

 
*Corresponding author: 
  Email: asratsolomon48@gmail.com +251-920440837 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eajbcs.v5i2.3S 

to the national economy is minimal (Shitaye et 
al., 2007). The poor health condition of its 
livestock has been one of the responsible factors 
for  the  low productivity  and  hence  profitability 
(Giday and Teklehaymanot, 2013). 

 
Research article



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30 
 

(KAP) of the publics is poor about the disease 
(Adugna et al., 2023). Bovine Tuberculosis 
(TB) is characterized by the formation of 
tubercles, which are distinct granulomatous 
lesions in affected organs and tissues that 
exhibit varying degrees of calcification, 
necrosis, and encapsulation (Thakur et al., 
2020). 

This disease is the second main cause of death 
from an infection disease world-wide, after the 
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most serious 
public health issues in the world, infecting 
billions of people each year and ranking as the 
second highest cause of death from an infectious 
disease behind HIV/AIDS. In 2013, about 9 
million new TB cases and 1.5 million TB deaths 
were estimated. About 85 percent of the disease 
burden is found in Asia and Africa (WHO, 
2014). The TB situation has worsened over the 
last three decades, which can be attributed to the 
HIV/AIDS pandemic (Getahun et al., 2010).  

Mycobacterium bovis is not the major source of 
human tuberculosis, but humans remain 
susceptible to bovine tuberculosis (Bulto,2012). 
Humans can be infected primarily by ingesting 
the agent by drinking raw milk containing the 
infective bacilli, secondly, by inhaling infective 
droplets when there is close contact between the 
owner and his/her cattle, especially at night 
since in some cases they share shelters with 
their animals.  In some countries, it is estimated 
that up to 10% of human tuberculosis are due to 
bovine tuberculosis (Gebremedhin et al., 2014). 
Furthermore, M. bovis can infect human when 
raw meat and other products from infected 
animals (Malama et al., 2013) are consumed or 
by inhaling infective droplets or direct exposure 
to infected animals (Verma et al., 2014). 

Ethiopia has one of the world's highest rates of 
human tuberculosis, which is primarily caused 
by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is imperative 
that tuberculosis positive animals must be 
slaughtered (culled); as soon as the initial group 
of reactors is removed, rigorous hygienic 
practices must be put in place to control the 
spread of infection. This involves thoroughly 
cleaning and disinfecting all feed troughs with a 
hot, 5% phenol solution. In general terms, 
control measures of bovine tuberculosis in the 
traditional extensive production systems are 
more difficult and complex (OIE, 2009). 

Statement of Problem 

Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease 
transmitted from animal to human. It induces a 
substantial economic impact through high cost 
of eradication programs and the severe 
consequences for movements of animals and 
their products, biodiversity, public health and 
substantial economic effect (Le Roex et al., 
2013, Rodriguez-Campos, et al., 2014). 
Zoonotic tuberculosis incidence varies across 
regions and countries, with higher rates 
observed where there is close contact between 
people and large cattle populations, particularly 
when unpasteurized milk and dairy products are 
frequently consumed (Kock et al., 2021). 

Ethiopia is one of the African countries where 
BTB is considered as expanding disease in 
animals. Diagnosis of BTB in Ethiopia is 
usually carried out on the basis of tuberculin 
test, meat inspection at the abattoir and rarely on 
bacteriological techniques (Ameni et al., 2003). 
But researchers conducted milk borne zoonosis 
so far in Jinka town revealed that there is still a 
gap in KAP towards the zoonotic diseases. The 
KAP towards BTB alone was not studied in 



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31 
 

Jinka town and that is why the current research 
was contemplated in the study area. Therefore, 
this study was conducted with the objective of 
assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices 
towards Bovine tuberculosis in Jinka town of 
southern, Ethiopia. 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

Description of the Study Area 

The study was conducted from March 2023 to 
July 2023 in Jinka town which is the capital city 
of South Omo Zone. It is located in the hills 
north of the Tama Plains. Currently, Jinka is the 
center of Jinka town administration. It has a 
latitude and Longitude of 5°47′N and 36°34′E 
Coordinates respectively and an elevation of 
1490 meters above sea level. The average 
annual temperature and precipitation are 21.1°C 
and 1274 mm, respectively. It is 750 KM south 
of the main capital city of the country, Addis 
Ababa. Currently, it is one of the seats for six 
regional bureaus of Southern Ethiopia. The 
town has 40,311 cattle, 11,411 Goats, 2868 
Sheep, 95,718 poultry, and 1402 equine 
population (Jinka town Agriculture office, 
2023). 

Study Population 

The study population were individuals who are 
resident in Jinka town with different Socio-
demographic characteristics. This study includes 
individuals of sex, different age categories, 
different occupation, different marital status, 
and those, which were found on different 
educational levels. Besides this, the target 
populations were interviewed with specific 
questions related to knowledge, attitude, and 

practice of the community toward Bovine 
Tuberculosis. 

Study Design 

A cross-sectional study was carried out from 
March 2023 to July 2023 to assess the 
community knowledge, attitude, and practice on 
Bovine Tuberculosis in Jinka Town. 
Accordingly, individuals will be selected by 
simple random sampling. 

Sample Size Determination 

The study population of the current study was 
comprised of simple randomly selected students 
of different educational levels (elementary, high 
schools, colleges), farmers, a governmental and 
self-employee that are found in Jinka town and 
its surroundings. Thus, the formula given by 
Yamane (1967) for the questionnaire survey was 
employed to calculate the sample size required 
for this study. 

𝑛 =
𝑁

(1 + 𝑁 ∗ (𝑒) )
 

where      n -sample size, N-population size = 
20,267 Jinka town Population (Jinka town 
Finance and economic development office, 
2023), e-acceptable sampling error =0.05, 95% 
confidence level and p= 0.05 were assumed. 
Hence, the total sample size was calculated to 
be 392. 

Method of Data Collection 

Questionnaire Survey 

A structured questionnaire was prepared to 
assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of 
the community settled on urban and peri-urban 
areas of the study area. In addition, the socio-



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32 
 

demographic information of each respondent 
was recorded. Randomly selected individuals 
who live within the different locality of the 
study areas (i.e. the study population) were the 
target group for this study. The questionnaire 
was administered to the randomly selected 
individuals by common local language in 
(Amharic and Ari language) during the 
interview. There was a brief discussion on the 
objective of the survey and respondents were 
asked for their consent before administration of 
the questionnaire.  

Retrospective Data 

Retrospective data (cases of Tuberculosis in 3 
consecutive years starting from 2020 to 2022) 
was collected from Jinka General Hospital in 
order to compare the prevalence of the disease 
and the level of the knowledge in the town. It 
was also important to have data of age-related 
cases of Tuberculosis. 

Data management and Analysis 

All collected data were entered into the 
Microsoft Excel 2010 spreadsheet, coded and 

then imported to STATA version-13 statistical 
software for descriptive statistical analysis. 

Pearson’s chi-square (2) test was used to 
access knowledge, attitude and practice with 
their respective age, sex, education level, 
marital status and occupation towards bovine 
tuberculosis disease. In all the analysis, 
confidence level was held at 95% and statistical 
analysis was considered as significant at p<0.05 

RESULTS 

Respondents’ Socio Demographic 
Characteristics  

The response rate was 382 (97.45%). 10 
(2.55%) respondents didn’t respond for the 
questionnaire during the study period. Among 
the respondents, 284 (74.3%) and 98 (25.7%) 
were male and female, respectively. Among the 
age groups, adults were the dominating group 
with 292 (76.4%) and youths were 90 (23.6%). 
Of the total respondents, 268 (70.2%) were 
married and 114 (29.8%) were unmarried, 50 
(13.09%) were illiterate and 232 (86.92%) were 
considered as educated (Table 1).  

Table 1: Socio demographic characteristics of respondents in Jinka Town (n=382) 
Variables Frequency Percentage (%) 
Sex Male 284 74.3 

Female 98 25.7 
Age Youth (15-24 yrs) 90 23.6 

Adult (>25 yrs) 292 76.4 
Marital Status Married  268 70.2 

Unmarried 114 29.8 
Educational 
level 

Illiterate 50 13.09 
Primary School 116 30.37 
Secondary School 96 25.13 
Diploma, degree and above 120 31.41 

 
 

 



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Knowledge of Respondents on Bovine 
Tuberculosis 

A total of 254 (66.5%) respondents in the study 
area knew about bovine tuberculosis whereas 
128 (33.5%) respondents haven’t heard about 
the disease. Among the informed / 
knowledgeable respondents, 213 (83.86%) knew 
that bacteria causes Bovine tuberculosis. About 

80% (n=204) respondents clearly mentioned 
emaciation as a clinical sign of BTB. Among 
the respondents who knew about BTB (n=254), 
208 (81.89%) knew that Bovine tuberculosis is a 
zoonotic disease where as 46 (18.11%) did not 
have any idea about its zoonotic nature. 
Likewise, 147 (57.87%) respondents knew that 
ingestion of raw milk can transmit Bovine TB 
from animal to human (Table 2). 

Table 2: Knowledge of respondents regarding Bovine Tuberculosis (n=382) 
Variables Frequency Percentage (%) 

Know BTB before Yes 254 66.5 
No 128 33.5 

Knowledge on cause of 
the disease (n=254) 

Bacteria 213 83.86 

Parasite 11 4.33 
Shortage of feed 12 4.72 
Religion 18 7.09 

Clinical signs of BTB 
(n=254) 

Lethargy 17 6.7 
Coughing 31 12.2 
Lymph node enlargement 2 0.79 
Emaciation 204 80.31 

Zoonotic disease 
(n=254) 

Yes 208 81.89 
No 46 18.11 

Method of transmission 
to human (n=254) 

Consumption of raw milk 147 57.87 
Consumption of raw meat 62 24.41 
Through cold air 26 10.24 
I do not know 19 7.48 

 
Relationship Between Knowledge about 
Bovine Tuberculosis and the Variables 

Among 284 male and 98 female respondents, 
195 (68.79%) and 59 (60.2%) were 
knowledgeable on BTB, respectively. The 
remaining 31.33% males and 39.9% females did 
not have any idea about the disease. Regarding 
the age groups, only 40% of the youths knew 

about the disease and 74.66% of the adults had 
good knowledge towards BTB. Based on 
educational level, 78% of Illiterate respondents 
had poor knowledge on the disease. Except sex, 
all independent variables (Age, Marital Status, 
and Educational Level) considered in this study 
were significantly associated with the 
Knowledge of Bovine Tuberculosis (P<0.05) 
(Table 3). 

 
 
 
 



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Table 3: Relationship between knowledge on Bovine Tuberculosis and the variables 

Variables  Number of 
respondents 

Know About BTB 2 P-
value Yes (%) No (%) 

Sex Male  284 195 (68.67) 89 (31.33) 2.3393 0.126 
Female  98 59 (60.2) 39 (39.8) 

Age Youth (15-24 yrs)  90 36 (40) 54 (60) 37.0886 0.000 

Adult (>25 yrs)  292 218 (74.66) 74 (25.34) 
Marital 
Status 

Married  268 206 (76.87) 62 (23.13) 43.5410 0.000 
Unmarried  114 48 (42.1) 66 (57.9) 

Educational 
level 

Illiterate  50 11 (22) 39 (78) 66.2325 0.000 
Primary School  116 66 (56.9) 50 (43.1) 
Secondary School  96 56 (58.33)  40 (41.67) 
College level & above  120 109 (90.83) 11 (9.17) 

 

Attitudes Toward Disease prevention 

Among the respondents, 137 (35.86%) 
considered the disease prevention status in Jinka 
town as poor and 245 (64.14%) considered it as 
good. Among the 382 respondents, 233 (82.2%) 
had positive attitude towards the disease to 
prevent BTB and the remaining 149 (27.8%) 
were remained with negative attitude towards 
BTB.  

Relation Ship Between Educational Level 
and Preventive Practices 

All considered preventive practices such as 
consumption of milk, boiling of milk, actions 
taken when animal and human are affected with 
the disease were significantly associated 
(p<0.05) with the educational level of the 
respondents (Table 4).  
 

Table 4: Relationship Between Educational Level and Preventive Practices toward BTB 
Variables Educational Level 2 P-

value Illiterate 
(50) 

Primary 
school (116) 

Secondary 
school (96) 

Diploma and 
above (120) 

Consumption of raw milk No (287) 10 (20%) 96 (82.8%) 77 (80.2%) 104 (86.7%) 31.1480 0.000 
Yes (95) 40 (80%) 20 (17.2%) 19 (19.8%) 16 (13.3%) 

Boiling of milk before 
consumption prevent BTB 

Yes (265) 37 (74%) 55 (47.4%) 64 (66.67%) 109 (90.8%) 52.1416 0.000 
No (117) 13 (26%) 61 (52.6%) 32 (33.33%) 11 (9.2%) 

Actions taken if human is 
affected with TB 

Seek doctor (260) 40 (80%) 56 (48.28%) 58 (60.41%) 106 (88.3%  0.000 
Seek traditional 
healers (58) 

7 (14%) 24 (20.69%) 18 (18.75%) 9 (7.5%) 

No action (64) 3 (6%) 36 (31.03%) 20 (20.84%) 5 (4.2%) 
Actions taken if animal is 
affected with BTB 

Seek veterinarian (39) 39 (78%) 54 (46.55%) 58 (60.42%) 103 (85.8%) 51.7462 0.000 
Seek traditional 
healers (8) 

8 (16%) 27 (23.28%) 20 (20.83%) 13 (10.8%) 

No action (4) 3(6%) 
 

35 (30.17%) 18 (18.75%) 4 (3.34%) 

 
  



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Retrospective Data Results 

Retrospective data on the prevalence of 
Pulmonary and extrapulmonary Tuberculosis 
was collected from Jinka General Hospital. The 
data include a 3-years registered disease report 
of the hospital from 2020 to 2022. The data was 
classified in to different age and sex groups. The 
data revealed higher prevalence of Human 
tuberculosis and its prevalence was higher in 

males. Among 316 people which were positive 
for pulmonary TB, 163 (51.6%) were males and 
153 (48.4%) were females in 2020. In 2021, 
there were 190 peoples from which 118 (62.1%) 
were males and 72 (37.9%) were females. This 
number was increased to 205 peoples in 2022, 
among which 127 (61.95%) were males and 78 
(38.05%) were females.  The result also 
indicated the presence of extrapulmonary TB in 
Jinka town. Accordingly, there were 5, 12 and 
45 peoples positive for this condition during 
2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively (table 5).  

Table 5: Retrospective data result based on sex groups 

Year Total 
examined for 
TB 

Positive cases  Prevalence 
(%) 

Type of TB 

Male Female Pulmonary Extra 
Pulmonary 

2020 2045 163 (51.6%) 153 (48.4%) 15.69 316 5 
2021 1732 118 (62.1%) 72 (37.9%) 11.66 190 12 
2022 2111 127 (61.95%) 78 (38.05) 11.8 205 45 

 

DISCUSSION 

Based on the detailed assessment of KAP 
towards BTB, 254 (66.5%) respondents in the 
study area knew about BTB, while the 
remaining 33.5% respondents did not have any 
idea about the disease. This finding is higher 
than the finding of Abebe et al. (2020) who 
revealed KAP towards BTB as 39.39% at Jinka 
town. This difference might be due to increased 
provision of awareness to the community by the 
different stake holders and those NGOs 
implementing their community services at the 
study area and the surroundings. Even though, 
there is still a knowledge gap towards BTB, the 
higher knowledge might be related with the 
recommendation of the previous study of Abebe 
et al. (2020) who recommended awareness 
creation as a part of zoonotic disease prevention. 

The current finding is lower than the study 
conducted in Jarso district West Wollega zone, 
Oromia Region by Hailu et al. (2022) who 
revealed that 100% participants defined TB as a 
disease of lung. A study conducted in Gambia 
by Boshorum et al. (2020) also revealed that 
most participants had heard about tuberculosis. 
Moreover, study conducted in Gambella by Bati 
et al. (2013) revealed higher KAP than the 
current finding. Hailu et al., (2021) reported 
57.2% respondents were well-informed about 
TB in Bahir dar, Amhara region Ethiopia. 
Furthermore, Zeru et al. (2014) revealed that 
30.8% of the respondents have good awareness 
about BTB in Mekelle town, Ethiopia. This 
finding is lower than the findings of the current 
study (66.5%). The difference of KAP between 
different regions and countries might be partly 
related with the difference of awareness level 
and it might be due to their ecological, socio-



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36 
 

cultural and socio-economic differences. Since 
the studies were implemented in different levels 
of urbanization where awareness creation level 
through media and access to internet might by 
different. 

The current study indicated that, among the 
knowledgeable respondents (n=254), 208 
(81.89%) knew that BTB is a zoonotic disease. 
This result was higher than the report of Hailu et 
al. (2022) and Zeru et al. (2014) who reported 
24.4% and 15% respondents, respectively, 
agreed with the idea that tuberculosis can easily 
spread from animals to humans and vice versa. 
Furthermore, Wendmagegn et al. (2016) 
reported that 48% of the respondents in Woldiya 
knew that BTB is zoonotic. The inconsistency 
between different studies might be due to 
differences in the degree of consciousness 
among the participants in the study areas of 
concern. 

The predictors of the knowledge were sex, age, 
marital status, and educational level. Males have 
higher knowledge (68.67%) towards BTB than 
females (31.33%) but gender /sex was the only 
factor not associated with the knowledge of 
BTB (p>0.05).  There is no difference between 
sex groups. The current study predicted that 
knowledge about BTB is higher in older age 
groups than youths. This is inconsistent with the 
finding of Hailu et al. 2021 who revealed as 
knowledge about BTB is higher in the age 
groups between 46 and 60 years. It might be 
suggested that elders have low level of 
knowledge due to limited access to training and 
awareness associated with BTB due to different 
reasons. The current finding is consistent with 
the result of Ismiala et al. (2015) who reported 
that age groups greater than 58 years are 
knowledgeable than the youngsters in Nigeria. 

As underlined by Hailu et al. (2021), knowledge 
increases with years of working experience. 
Similar study by Addo et al. (2011) in Ghana 
supported this finding suggesting that herds men 
with long practical experiences had a greater 
knowledge due to past experiences on BTB in 
their herd. Ngoshe et al. (2023) also suggested 
that despite their lower level of education, older 
farmers were well-informed on animal diseases 
compared to younger farmers.  

In the current study, marital status is 
significantly associated (p<0.05) with the 
knowledge towards TB. Among 268 married 
respondents, 206 (76.87%) were knowledgeable 
than the unmarried ones (42.1%). This might be 
due to previous experience and exposure to 
training. As couples are two, one of them might 
have awareness and they can share it together. 
In addition to this, in order to take care of their 
children, married respondents might be likely to 
have more access to health centers where 
awareness creation takes place than unmarried 
ones. 

Regarding education, those who attend college 
(diploma level) and above have high knowledge 
and practice on BTB as compared to those who 
joined primary and no formal education at all. 
Similar findings were also reported in Ethiopia 
by Asebe and Gudina (2018), Kerorsa (2019) 
and recently by Hailu et al. (2021). The study 
conducted in Nigeria by Ismaila et al. (2015) 
revealed similar result. As stated by Asebe and 
Gudina (2018), providing education plays a 
pivotal role in adding knowledge. Moreover, 
Education is an important tool in increasing 
awareness towards BTB among livestock 
owners and limited access to education results 
in low awareness among the community. 
Furthermore, education was among the factors 



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37 
 

associated with better level of precautionary 
practice for BTB. This finding is consistent with 
the finding of Hailu et al. (2021), who revealed 
education as a factor which is associated with 
level of practice for BTB. 

Regarding the causes of BTB, among the 
knowledgeable respondents about BTB (n=254), 
most of the respondents 213 (83.86%) knew that 
bacteria cause BTB. This finding is similar to 
Buregyeya et al. (2011) in Ethiopia where 
79.9% of the respondents discerned the source 
of TB. But the current study indicated that yet 
7.09%, 4.33% and 4.72% have misconception 
that religion, parasite and shortage of feed, 
respectively cause BTB. Onyango et al. (2020) 
also revealed very similar result who stated 
there was high misunderstanding that cold air 
and dust cause TB. 

Regarding consumption of raw milk, 95 
(24.87%) of respondents consume raw milk. 
This result is lower that the study conducted in 
South Gondar Zone by Alelign et al. (2019) 
who reported that 69% respondents consume 
raw or under cooked milk and dairy products. 
Similarly, Wario et al. (2018) showed that 
66.2% respondents consume raw milk in 
Yabello. Moreover, the finding of Tschopp et 
al., (2013) from Arsi zone, Ethiopia revealed 
that 55.4% respondents consume raw milk.  

The study conducted in Ghana by Addo et al. 
(2011) and by Ngoshe et al. (2023) in Far 
Northern Kwa Zulu-Natal reported that 40% and 
51.98% of the study participants consume raw 
milk respectively. This might be linked with 
food consumption habit and geographical 
difference (Hailu et al., 2021). Unlike the 
current study, most of the studies mentioned 
were carried out in rural and agro-pastoral areas, 

where raw milk consumption is likely to be 
practiced. According to Ismaila et al. (2015), the 
inconsistency might be due to difference in 
knowledge on zoonosis and consequence of raw 
food consumption. Educational level is among 
the factors significantly associated with raw 
milk consumption (p <0.05). The prevalence of 
raw milk consumption was 80%, 17.2%, 19.8% 
and 13.33% in illiterate, primary, secondary and 
diploma and above educational levels 
respectively. This indicates that as educational 
level of the respondent increases, awareness 
level on the consequence of raw milk 
consumption also increases. 

Among 120 respondents educated to college 
level and above, 109 (90.8%) considered boiling 
milk before consumption as a preventive 
method of the transmission of BTB from 
animals to humans. In another side, among 50 
respondents who have no formal education, 
74% respondents considered boiling milk as 
preventive method. This result is almost similar 
to the result of Hailu et al., (2021) who stated 
that 99% of the respondents knew boiling milk 
prior to drinking can prevent the transmission of 
BTB to humans. The current finding is different 
from that of Hailu et al. 2022 and Bihon et al. 
(2021) who indicated that more than 60% 
respondents disagree that pasteurization of milk 
before consumption prevents TB. This 
difference might be due the difference in the 
educational level of the respondents in the study 
areas. 

The retrospective data revealed that there was 
high prevalence of Human tuberculosis in Jinka 
town and its surroundings. This might be related 
with low awareness towards the transmission of 
BTB to human and limitations to follow 
possible preventive measures including boiling 



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38 
 

of milk destined for consumption. This in turn 
increases the frequency of raw milk 
consumption in the study area and the 
surrounding. Furthermore, most TB patients fail 
to get treatment in the study area as there is no 
enough health services. Almost 92% people do 
not come back to clinics for follow up after their 
first treatment because of panic of what people 
will say about them (Onyango et al., 2020). 
Concomitantly, this increases the transmission 
rate of TB to susceptible ones. The prevalence 
of TB was higher in males than females. Among 
the individuals who showed-up to Jinka General 
hospital for medical support and diagnosed 
positive for tuberculosis, majority of them were 
males. The higher prevalence of human TB in 
male might be related with occupational 
behavior, wider home range and exposure to TB 
patients. Occupationally, females remain in the 
home and have low exposure to sick people and 
the other risk factors associated with human TB 
than males.  

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION 

This study has identified that relatively there is 
good level of knowledge and moderate level of 
attitude and practices towards the prevention 
and control of the disease and yet there are 
misconceptions which require additional work 
to minimize the gap of KAP among the 
community. This study revealed that there is 
high prevalence of human tuberculosis as a 
result of low attitude and practice towards the 
preventive and control measures of BTB. 
Moreover, they also have knowledge gap on the 
impact of consumption of raw milk and possible 
disease prevention strategy. Analysis of the 
retrospective data also indicated that, there is 
high prevalence of human TB in the study area 
which is believed to be due to the above 

problems. It also indicates that the disease can 
affect all age and sex groups.  

Based on the above conclusions, regular 
community awareness creation work on the 
possible prevention strategies of the disease, and 
collaborative engagement of veterinarians and 
physicians for the control and further 
investigation of the level of BTB and Human 
TB in the region are recommended.  

Acknowledgement 

The authors are grateful to the Jinka General 
Hospital for provision of the 3 years 
retrospective data. Staff members of Jinka 
University Department of Veterinary medicine 
are also acknowledged for their direct or 
indirect support. 

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