Contribution of Animal Husbandry Practices to Environmental Contamination: A Qualitative Study across Four Eco-Regions of Northwestern Coastal Ecuador. Público

Abstract

Improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are vital to health through prevention of infections from pathogens, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet current WASH-focused interventions alone may not be sufficient due to their focus on safe management of human feces in environments where animal fecal contamination may be prominent. Animals are a significant source of income, food, transportation, and companionship in urban and rural regions of LMICs. These populations bear the greatest burden of possible onsite animal fecal exposure and fecal-oral transmission of enteric pathogens that give rise to health consequences such as diarrhea, environmental enteric dysfunction, anemia, and impaired child growth and cognitive development. Animal husbandry contributes substantially to human welfare, supplying meat and dairy products to the global population. One claimed advantage of animal husbandry is promotion of environmental health through the proper management of animal waste, yet this may not be true in all contexts. To investigate animal husbandry practices that contribute to environmental contamination and identify any variation in husbandry practices across an urban-rural gradient, thematic analysis of 29 translated go-along in-depth interview transcripts with animal owners in northwestern coastal Ecuador was conducted in MaxQDA. The data demonstrated that animal living conditions such as corralled or free range determined the distribution of animal feces in and around households and throughout communities and natural areas. While some animal owners properly disposed of animal feces, others left or intentionally put them in the environment. Across the eco-regions studied, most animal owners managed their animals’ feces in a way that contributed to fecal contamination of the environment. This is consistent throughout LMICs where feces are omnipresent in communities and solid waste management systems are inefficient. The suboptimal practice of safe waste management behaviors and apparent lack of awareness of environmental fecal contamination risks are two potential targets for environmental health interventions in these and other communities.

 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

1.1 Background....................................................................................................................................1

1.2 Health Burden ................................................................................................................................3

1.3 Animal Husbandry ..........................................................................................................................3

1.4 Study Purpose ................................................................................................................................4

2 Methods............................................................................................................................................7

2.1 Study Setting..................................................................................................................................7

2.2 Study Design, Data Collection and Participants.................................................................................7

2.2.1 Parent Studies..............................................................................................................................7

2.2.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................8

2.2.3 Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................10

2.3 Ethical Considerations...................................................................................................................10

3 Results............................................................................................................................................11

3.1 Study Participants .........................................................................................................................11

3.2 Animal Type .................................................................................................................................11

3.3 Reasons for Animal Ownership ......................................................................................................12

3.4 Animal Living Conditions ..............................................................................................................14

3.5 Animal Defecation Locations .........................................................................................................16

3.6 Animal Feces Management............................................................................................................18

3.7 Animal Habitat Cleaning ...............................................................................................................25

4 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................28

4.1 Strengths and Limitations..............................................................................................................34

4.2 Next Steps.....................................................................................................................................35

5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................35 References..........................................................................................................................................37

6 Appendix.........................................................................................................................................42

Figure 3. Map of study sites, zoomed out...............................................................................................42

Figure 4. Map of study sites, zoomed in.................................................................................................42 Tables.................................................................................................................................................43

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Environmental Health
Degree	M.P.H.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Environmental Health Health Sciences, Public Health
Palavra-chave	feces management animal husbandry environmental contamination LMIC
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Bethany Caruso, Emory University

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