Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Pastoralists Towards Tick Bites, and Tick Control in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Purpose: Pastoralists regularly come in contact with ticks as they herd their animals and are exposed to pathogens that cause zoonotic diseases. No study has been conducted in Nigeria to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of these Pastoralists towards ticks, tick bite, and tick control, and thus this research.

Methods: A KAP survey of pastoralists (n = 119) was conducted in Plateau State, Nigeria. Data generated were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

Results: The majority of the pastoralists (99.2%) had knowledge of ticks, with 79% of them being aware that ticks attach and bite humans, whereas only 30.3% believed that ticks transmit diseases to humans. Eighty-four per cent of the pastoralists do not wear protective clothing while herding their animals and 81.5% indicated to having been bitten by ticks, whereas hospital visit after tick bite was low (7.6%). Statistically significant variables were observed when knowledge of the respondents were compared in relation to the ability of ticks to cause diseases (Χ = 9.980, P = 0.007); hospital visit after a bite (Χ = 11.453, P = 0.003); and the use of protective clothing for herding (Χ = 22.596, P = 0). The main tick control measure was hand picking (58.8%).

Conclusions: The pastoralists were unaware of the ability of ticks to transmit zoonotic pathogens. Preventive practices were insufficient to reduce tick bites, and thus were constantly exposed to tick-borne diseases. This study hopes to provide important insights for the development of educational awareness programmes for the pastoralists and serve as a guide for the health workers in designing future preventive programmes against tick-borne zoonoses in Nigeria.