Women’s major responsibilities in agricultural and family welfare increase their roles in
transmission of diseases hence making them vulnerable to many diseases including
zoonoses. Knowing appropriate local control measures to control brucellosis would help
improve disease situation at family level and communities in general. This cross sectional
study, conducted from November 2013 to September 2014 at Kilosa District, aimed at
assessing women’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards control of brucellosis. A
total of 260 respondents were interviewed and five focus group discussions were
conducted. In women’s perspective, zoonotic diseases identified were bovine tuberculosis,
Foot and Mouth disease, brucellosis and Anthrax. Majority of women had poor knowledge
on the identified zoonoses and very few 37% and 1% had fair knowledge of bovine
tuberculosis and Foot and Mouth Disease respectively. Risk behaviors that were known to
drive brucellosis transmission are consumption of raw animal products, direct contact with
animals and animal products especially blood, aborted fetuses and after birth materials,
and movement of animals in large groups. The local measure for controlling brucellosis
was boiling of milk (though its effectiveness was below 50%). To control other diseases,
they lower the temperature of milk by keeping it in gourds with a smoke of Msisiri tree;
lower the pH
by fermenting milk; treat infected animals with several antibiotics and
practicing personal hygiene by washing hands with water and soap immediately after
touching animals and animal secretions. For repeated fever (Undulant fever) they drink
animal fats made from milk or meat. Local control measures such as proper boiling of
milk, thorough cooking of meat and proper handling of animals, their products and byproducts
should be adopted to reduce transmission of brucellosis from animals to humans.
The community should be educated on brucellosis to enhance control of the disease.