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Brucellosis is an infectious zoonotic disease considered as a threat to public health and pastoralist livelihoods.
Symptoms of the disease can lead to gender-specific ailments such as abortions in women and orchitis in men.
Pastoralists and their families are at high risk of contracting the disease. Access to health information reinforces
existing knowledge and contributes to disease prevention. However, in developing countries, interventions for
knowledge sharing on zoonotic diseases predominantly target men. This study aimed to describe mechanisms of
knowledge production and transfer on brucellosis according to gender, by assessing the way knowledge affects
behaviours of pastoral communities. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among a pastoral
community (PC) of the Folon region in north-west Côte d’Ivoire. The study included transhumant pastoralists,
sedentary livestock owners, shepherds and their wives. By using mixed methods, 26 semi-structured interviews
were conducted, and 320 questionnaires were completed. Statistical analysis with chi-square (χ2) comparison tests
was performed to compare variables between men and women. Findings were interpreted through the concept of
specialisation of the social exclusion theory. We found that gender influences access to information on brucellosis
and transfer of knowledge on brucellosis appeared gender-biased, especially from veterinarians towards men in the
community. The social labour division and interventions of veterinarians through awareness reinforce the
knowledge gap on brucellosis between men and women. Men and women consume raw milk, whilst only men in
general handle animal discharges with bare hands. To improve the control of brucellosis, knowledge on best
practice should be shared with pastoral communities using the One Health approach that encourages mutual
learning. Innovative strategies based on gender daily tasks such as safe dairy processing by women and safe animal
husbandry to expand their herd for men can be the entry point for the prevention of brucellosis. |
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