Urban Chickens as a Pathway for Human Illness? An Examination of Knowledge, Behavior, and Risk

Abstract

This research investigates the relationship among human knowledge, behavior, and risk as they relate to urban chicken husbandry in the U.S. Concern over zoonotic diseases has been on the rise, especially with increasing contact. In particular, avian influenza, or bird flu, Salmonella enterica (salmonella), and Escherichia coli (E. coli), can all cross species lines between people and poultry. This study analyzed knowledge and practices in urban chicken husbandry to assess how they relate to risk of disease acquisition, hypothesizing that certain practices associated with a lessened knowledge base may heighten the risk. This study used social surveys to examine the self-reported knowledge base of individuals involved in chicken husbandry as they relate to beliefs and behaviors associated with the care of these animals. These results identify key factors that may heighten the risk of disease transmission, and demonstrate that an increased knowledge base could act to lessen this risk.

Smallholder knowledge-practices and smallholding animals: Threats or alternatives to agricultural biosecurity?

“…This complements a wider view in both the Global North and South that smallholder and domestic production is a threat. In South Africa, for instance, smallholder farmers were blamed for outbreaks of diseases in pigs (Mather & Marshall, 2011) and in an urban context Hinchliffe and Bingham (2008), Hovorka (2008) and Capoccia et al (2018) mention continuing biosecurity anxieties associated with domestic-scale or 'non-commercial' animal keeping. In the UK, this perspective is supported by the veterinary establishment (e.g.…”