SEARCHOTHERpublic health, epidemiology

other·public health, epidemiology, infectious disease, family medicine, observational study·PMC10241411

Gender and zoonotic pathogen exposure pathways in a resource-limited community, Mpumalanga, South Africa: A qualitative analysis

PLOS Global Public Health · 6 authors, 4 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

Full summary

763 CHARS

This ethnographic study investigated gendered human-animal-environment interactions to identify potential zoonotic pathogen exposure pathways in a resource-limited community neighboring a transfrontier conservation area. Results indicated gender differences in tasks related to domestic animal care, water collection, and food preparation, which may lead to distinct exposure routes. For example, both men and women access grazing land but for different purposes, and men more commonly wore protective clothing during work. The study recommends that these gender-typed roles be considered critical control points for prevention strategies, such as targeting tick-bite prevention differently for men (cattle-related exposure) and women (water/firewood collection).

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10241411

Gender and zoonotic pathogen exposure pathways in a resource-limited community, Mpumalanga, South Africa: A qualitative analysis

PLOS Global Public Health

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

The Mnisi community is a livestock-dependent community neighboring the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area in South Africa. Here, zoonotic pathogens contribute to as many as 77% of cases of acute febrile illness. Previous gender-disaggregated analysis in the community has shown that men and women have different risks of zoonotic illness, suggesting that exposure routes for zoonotic infections should be further explored to inform gender-sensitive risk mitigation strategies. Using a One Health approach and ethnographic methodology, we examined interactions between community residents, domestic animals, and the built and natural environment to investigate potential exposure pathways for zoonotic infections from a gendered perspective. We combined data from direct household observations and focus group discussions on previously identified gendered tasks such as domestic animal care, water collection, and food preparation, and how and by whom these tasks were performed. We noted gender differences for household tasks, animal care duties, and environmental exposure. Both men and women access grazing land but for different tasks (water collection—females, cattle grazing—males), and both men and women experience more time in the bush in recent years due to decreased water availability. From observations, it was noted that men wore covered protective work clothes (such as long trousers and closed-toe shoes) more commonly than women did; women did not often wear these for household duties including water collection in the bush. We recommend that these gender-typed roles serve as critical control points for zoonotic pathogen exposure. For example, tick-bite exposure prevention should be directed at both men and women based on their daily activities, but prevention in men should target exposure from cattle and prevention in women should focus on personal protective measures during water and firewood collection. These findings can contribute to a more detailed understanding of the role of human behavior and critical control points for zoonotic disease—a significant contributor to acute febrile illness in this rural, resource-limited setting.

CITATION EXPORT

Pallavi Oruganti, Elisabeth Root, Violet Ndlovu et al.. Gender and zoonotic pathogen exposure pathways in a resource-limited community, Mpumalanga, South Africa: A qualitative analysis. PLOS Global Public Health. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001167

AUTHORS

6 · 4 CENTRES

Pallavi Oruganti, Elisabeth Root, Violet Ndlovu, Philemon Mbhungele, Ilana Van Wyk, Amanda M. Berrian

1 Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
2 College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
3 University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
University of Bremen: Universitat Bremen, GERMANY

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Melanie Boeckmann