Transboundary and infectious diseases of small ruminants: Knowledge, attitude, and practice of nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists in northern Iran

•Only one third of farmers were literate, and one third were nomads.•The majority consider infectious diseases an important or very important issue.•Despite attitude, neither Knowledge nor practice scores were satisfactory.•Farmers’ knowledge was mostly influenced by their experience and level of literacy.•Farmers’ practice and attitude were not affected by socio-demographic factors. In Iran, despite attempts by the Iranian Vet Organization (the national veterinary organization) to increase both the vaccination of flocks and the use of precautionary measures to avoid disease outbreaks, outbreaks of transboundary and infectious diseases continue. A lack of farmer knowledge combined with limited appreciation of the importance of disease control and poor practice are likely to be important risk factors for disease spread. Therefore, it is essential to understand farmers’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards infectious diseases in order to limit the impact and spread of such diseases. A questionnaire to provide information on sheep and goat farmers’ understanding and KAP towards infectious diseases was designed with assistance from international experts. Calibration sessions and a pilot study were held so that interviewers would ask the questions and record the answers in a consistent manner. One hundred and thirteen farmers from Alborz and Qazvin provinces, located in the North of Iran, were interviewed and their understanding of and KAP towards infectious disease were analysed along with the factors affecting KAP. Farmers’ knowledge was significantly associated with level of literacy and experience, while factors such as total number of animals each farmer owned, their system of farming, union membership, reported annual mortality, experience and literacy were all associated with their understanding of different diseases. These results will be used to target training of farmers to improve their understanding of infectious disease, with the aim of reducing their impact.