Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in Miyazaki, Japan, in 2010, and 290,000 animals were culled. This paper describes the mental distress of the volunteers who had been dispatched to Miyazaki for disease control two years after the epidemic. It also assesses risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A participatory appraisal and self-administered questionnaire survey were conducted in 2012 for those who were dispatched to Miyazaki in 2010. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used as an indicator of PTSD, and univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. Of the 875 respondents, 1.3% had higher IES-R scores than the cut-off point (25), which is suggestive of PTSD. Mental stresses during and soon after FMD control and after two years were described. Four risk factors associated with high IES-R scores were found: transporting culled animals (P<0.01), stress during FMD control (P<0.01) and at the time of the survey (P<0.01), and lack of someone to talk to about FMD-associated stress at the time of the survey (P<0.01). Veterinarians, livestock technicians and clerical officers involved in FMD control still suffer from mental stress two years later. Public services should provide an opportunity for them to consult with mental health specialists. These findings should be used to better prepare workers who deal with infectious diseases of animals, especially when they must be culled. The establishment of a collaborative framework between veterinary and mental health services is recommended.

In a globalized world, the frequency of transboundary livestock infectious diseases is increasing, and strengthening of farm biosecurity is vital to stabilize food production. The aim of this study was to understand the decision-making process for farm biosecurity among Japanese livestock farmers. Postal surveys using structured questionnaires were conducted on beef, dairy, pig, and layer farms in Hokkaido and Saitama Prefectures, which represent the principal production area and peri-urban Tokyo, respectively, as well as randomly selected broiler farms across Japan. The question items included the attributes of farms and owners, disease experiences, related associations and sources of hygiene information, attitude toward hygiene management, and compliance with the Standards of Rearing Hygiene Management (SRHM). The compliance rates were compared between livestock sectors. Univariable analyses were conducted using combined data from both prefectures, with the compliance rate as the outcome variable and the questionnaire items as explanatory variables, in generalized linear models. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted using the variables with p < 0.2 in the univariable analyses. The factors identified were classified into knowledge, attitude, capacity, practice, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed. The questionnaires were completed and returned by 97 and 66 beef cattle, 86 and 136 dairy, 67 and 45 pig, 20 and 39 layer farmers in Hokkaido and Saitama Prefectures, respectively, and 95 broiler farms. The compliance rate was significantly higher among broiler farms (88.9%) compared with the other sectors, followed by pig (77.1%), layer (67.2%), dairy (63.8%), and beef (59.1%) farms in Hokkaido Prefecture, and layer (64.9%), pig (60.0%), dairy (58.5%), and beef (57.6%) farms in Saitama Prefecture. Based on SEM, the decision-making process from greater knowledge to higher attitude, and from higher attitude to greater compliance with the SRHM were significant ( p < 0.01) in all sectors. Higher capacity was significantly associated with higher knowledge in dairy, pig,break and layer farms ( p < 0.01), and with higher compliance in beef, pig, and layer farms ( p < 0.05). These results suggest that the provision of targeted hygiene knowledge to livestock farmers and the support to smallholder farms would improve biosecurity through elevated attitudes and self-efficacy.

SummaryRecently, the size of pig farms is rapidly growing in Japan. It raised the economic risk from occurrence of infectious diseases, and the improvement of biosecurity has become increasingly important. The objective of this study was to understand the current situation of compliance with the Standard of Rearing Hygiene Management (SRHM) in Hokkaido Prefecture, and to find out factors associated with the practice and attitude towards farm hygiene of pig farm managers. A questionnaire was designed based on the potential factors associated with the practice and attitude towards farm hygiene and SRHM, and these were distributed to pig farm managers who belong to a Hokkaido Pork Producers Association by mail. In statistical analysis, univariate analysis was performed selecting question items as explanatory variables, and the proportion of compliance with SRHM as a response variable. In multivariable analysis, Generalized Linear Models with quasi-binomial errors were conducted with factors with the p-values lower than 0.2. Mean proportion of SRHM compliance among 67 respondents was 75.4%. Well-kept standards were associated with maintenance of animal life, and the standards with low compliance were those needed for high level biosecurity. Multivariable analysis showed that those farms with larger number of labor force (slope of logit＝0.08, p＝0.006), frequent attendance to seminars related with farm hygiene (slope＝0.22, p＝0.004), and larger number of source of knowledge (slope＝0.25, p＝0.005) had higher compliance with SRHM, and these farm managers were satisfied with their hygiene practice (slope＝0. 43, p＝0.002). On the contrary, those farms without successor (slope＝-1.05, p＜0.001), and prioritizing securing leisure time had lower compliance (slope＝-0.87, p＜ 0.001), and these farms experienced greater variety of infectious diseases (slope＝-0.19, p＝0.001). The present study found that active acquisition of hygiene-related knowledge was associated with higher hygiene attitude, it was suggested that efficient provision of hygiene knowledge would effectively strengthen biosecurity.