Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards african swine fever(asf) among pork consumers in malaysia

An abstract of the research paper presented to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, in partial requirement on the course DVT 55204 - Research Project. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a viral, infectious and notifiable swine disease with a very high fatality rate. It not only causes a high mortality rate among infected pig, but also causes a high economic impact worldwide and was recently reported in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitude,
and practices toward ASF among pork consumers in Malaysia by using a self- administered questionnaire. A total of 308 pork consumers participated in this study. Person Chi-square analysis and Spearman’s rho correlation were used to determine the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of pork consumers and the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices towards ASF as well as the relationship between the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices, respectively. It was found that
the knowledge of the pork consumer was moderate (62.3%, n=192/308), and only 64.3% (n=198/308) of them had heard of ASF. The pork consumers with a good attitude towards ASF was 49.4% (n=152/308). Among the pork consumers, 75.6%
(n=233/308) believed that public awareness is crucial in stopping ASF in Malaysia. The analysis reveals an association between the level of knowledge and education
level (p=0.013) and a positive correlation between total knowledge and attitude score (r=0.265). In conclusion, pork consumers who participated in this study demonstrated
moderate understanding, a good attitude, and moderate to good practices regarding African Swine Fever. This study's findings will benefit various parties, such as TheDepartment of Veterinary Services (DVS), in efforts to identify potential interventive actions, such as awareness campaigns on ASF.
Keywords: KAP, African Swine Fever, Pork consumer