Knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices of selected commercial dairy cattle farmers regarding neosporosis in South Africa

Abstract

Neospora caninum is a cyst-forming coccidian protozoan with a broad host range and is maintained through a complex facultative heteroxenous life cycle involving definitive canid hosts and various warm-blooded intermediate hosts. In cattle, it is a major cause of infectious abortion, leading to significant losses in productivity and profitability worldwide. This study surveyed 48 commercial dairy farmers across seven milk-producing regions in South Africa to assess knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices regarding bovine neosporosis. Most respondents were commercial farmers (98%), managed mixed-breed cattle (48%), operated farms larger than 500 hectares (48%) and had cattle averaging 3-5 years in age (77%). Only 21% of farmers were aware of neosporosis. Despite limited knowledge, 77% demonstrated good disease management practices, and 52% had positive attitudes towards control efforts. Three variables were significantly associated with the odds of positive practice and positive attitude scores. Farms with herds over 500 animals were 41.7 times more likely (95% confidence interval: 1.5-5237.3) to exhibit good practices. Farms that used total mixed ration were associated with better practices, while the presence of wildlife was associated with poorer attitudes. Additionally, farms that reported the presence of wildlife were less likely to have a positive attitude score. No specific factors were found to be associated with increased disease knowledge.

Contribution: This study highlights the critical knowledge gap and the need for greater awareness and targeted biosecurity measures for bovine neosporosis. It also identified neosporosis as a neglected abortifacient in dairy cattle in South Africa.