Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is of public health significance due to its potential to infect humans and cause a pandemic. The study was therefore carried out to assess knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on avian influenza and biosecurity among poultry workers (poultry sellers and poultry processors) in Live Bird Markets (LBMs) in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to 100 poultry workers at the LBMs in a cross-sectional study to determine their level of knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning avian influenza and biosecurity measures in the LBMs. The majority of the people (54%) who worked in the LBMs were between the ages 21-40 years, they had the highest acceptable knowledge scores (77.8%) and the acceptable attitude scores (18.5%). Most of the poultry workers (72%) agreed that they were safe from AI infection even without proper protective equipment when handling poultry, 16 % disagreed, while 12% were not sure or did not know. This poses a potential danger of the spread of avaian influenza (AI) in humans and animals in the study area. Poultry sellers and processors in the LBM had high level of knowledge but low level of attitudes and practices, signifying high potential of acquiring AI infection. Poultry workers should be properly trained on personal hygiene, provided with appropriate personal protective equipment and be encouraged to use these protective wears while at work to reduce economic and public health risk.

Key words: Attitudes, Avian influenza, Biosecurity, Knowledge, Pandemic, Practices