A cross sectional survey of knowledge, attitude and practices related to house flies among dairy farmers in Punjab, Pakistan

BACKGROUND: House flies are of major public health concerns in areas with poor sanitation and hygienic conditions. Unfortunately, sanitation and hygiene have always been ignored in dairy farms particularly in the developing or low-income countries. Management of these flies mostly depends on the awareness regarding associated hazards and protective measures taken by the people to minimize risks associated with flies. The present study therefore explores the knowledge, attitude and practices taken by dairy farmers in Punjab, Pakistan against house flies. METHODS: The present study was based on a cross sectional self administered survey to a convenience sample of 173 small scale dairy farmers in four localities – Multan, Lahore, Shorkot and Faisalabad – of Pakistan. The relationships between socio-demographics, knowledge and preventive practices were investigated through logistic regression analysis and chi-square test of association. RESULTS: Considerable number of dairy farmers 71/173 (41.04%) had no idea about the problems associated with house flies. Although 77/173 (44.51%) dairy farmers reported house flies as disease transmitters, only 23 (29.87%) farmers were familiar with diseases and 22 (28.57%) had somewhat idea of the mode of disease transmission. We found a positive association between dairy farmer’s education level and overall knowledge of house flies in multivariate analysis. Farmer’s education level and knowledge of the house flies breeding sites had a positive association with the adoption of house fly prevention practices by the respondents. However, knowledge of the problems associated with house flies and preventive measures had no association with house fly prevention practices. CONCLUSION: The present ethnoentomological survey provides information about knowledge, attitude and practices of dairy farmers related to house flies in Punjab, Pakistan. We conclude that the farmers’ education level and knowledge of the breeding sites had a positive association with the adoption of prevention practices against house flies. The study also highlights the need of targeting the lack of knowledge of dairy farmers for the successful management of house flies.