Elsevier

Acta Tropica

Volume 86, Issue 1, April 2003, Pages 41-54
Acta Tropica

Domestic poultry-raising practices in a Peruvian shantytown: implications for control of Campylobacter jejuni-associated diarrhea

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-706X(03)00006-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Raising poultry at home is common in many periurban communities in low-income countries. Studies demonstrate that free-range domestic poultry increase children's risk of infection with diarrhea-causing organisms such as Campylobacter jejuni. Corralling might reduce risk, but research on the socioeconomic acceptability of corralling is lacking. To explore this issue, we studied local knowledge and practices related to poultry-raising in a Peruvian shantytown. Our objectives were to understand: (1) motives for raising domestic poultry; (2) economic and cultural factors that affect the feasibility of corralling; and (3) local perceptions about the relationship between domestic poultry and disease. During 1999–2000, we met with community health volunteers and conducted ethnographic and structured interviews with residents about poultry-raising practices. We then enrolled 12 families in a 2-month trial of corral use during which field workers made biweekly surveillance visits to each family. Most participants reported that they raise birds because home-grown poultry and eggs taste better and are more nutritious and because they enjoy living around animals. Some want to teach their children about raising animals. To prevent theft, many residents shut their birds in provisional enclosures at night, but most stated that birds are healthier, happier, and produce better meat and eggs when let loose by day. Many view bird feces in the house and yard as dirty, but few see a connection to illness. Residents consider chicks and ducklings more innocuous than adult birds and are more likely to allow them inside the house and permit children to play with them. After extensive orientation and technical assistance, participants were willing to corral birds more often. But due to perceived disadvantages, many kept birds penned only intermittently. Additional food and water costs were a significant obstacle for some. Adequate space, bird care and corral hygiene would also need to be addressed to make this intervention viable. Developing a secure, acceptable and affordable corral remains a challenge in this population.

Introduction

Diarrhea remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for young children in the developing world (Bern et al., 1992, Dupont, 1995, Prado and O'Ryan, 1994, World Bank, 1993). Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common pathogens associated with infectious childhood diarrhea worldwide (Albert et al., 1999, Biswas et al., 1996, Caprioli et al., 1996, CDC, 2001, Gedlu and Aseffa, 1996, Grados et al., 1988, Koulla-Shiro et al., 1995, Simango and Nyahanana, 1997, Uysal et al., 1997). The presence of free-range domestic poultry increases children's exposure to C. jejuni (Grados et al., 1988, Marquis et al., 1990). Raising poultry this way is common in periurban Peru and in many other low-income countries.

Corralling domestic poultry has been suggested as a measure that might reduce C. jejuni exposure and thus diarrhea (Marquis et al., 1990). Corralling as a potential domestic hygiene intervention has not been studied, but there is a substantial literature on other domestic hygiene practices related to diarrhea prevention, including water storage, latrine use, hand- and dish-washing at critical times, breast-feeding, use of bottles and weaning foods and disposal of children's feces (Ahmed et al., 1993, Gorter et al., 1998, Huttly et al., 1994, McLennan, 2000, Pinfold and Horan, 1996, Yeager et al., 1999). Behavior change interventions geared towards improving domestic hygiene can significantly reduce the incidence of childhood diarrhea (Ahmed et al., 1993, Huttly et al., 1997, Kaltenthaler and Drasar, 1996, Pinfold and Horan, 1996). However, evaluations show that high or increased biomedical knowledge—for instance about the etiologic link between pathogen and illness—does not necessarily lead to a change in targeted behaviors. On the contrary, domestic hygiene behaviors are formed, influenced and maintained by a complex web of interrelated factors such as history, cultural and individual preference (e.g., for the taste of unboiled water), effort or cost involved in performing the desired behavior, family dynamics, and community cohesiveness (Kunstadter, 1991, McLennan, 2000, Pelto, 1991, Pinfold, 1999).

To explore the cultural, social, and economic feasibility of corralling, we studied motives for raising poultry, the social and economic context of domestic poultry production, and local knowledge about the relationship between domestic poultry and disease in a Peruvian shantytown. We then conducted a 2-month household trial to determine if corralling would be socially, economically and culturally feasible for community residents. This study was the second of a three-part project related to preventing C. jejuni-associated diarrhea. The first phase, begun in 1998, consisted of an 11-month epidemiological surveillance investigating the relationship between Campylobacter strains found in chickens and humans (Oberhelman, 2003). Phase III, an 18-month case-control study testing the efficacy of corrals in reducing C. jejuni-related infections, ended in December 2001. The project was reviewed and approved by the Committee on Use of Human Subjects at Tulane University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and by the Ethics Committee of the Asociación Benéfica PRISMA in Lima.

Section snippets

Study site

Our study site, Las Pampas de San Juan de Miraflores, is a pueblo joven or shantytown built on the slopes of the steep and rocky desert hills southeast of Lima. The soil is dusty and there is no rain or natural vegetation. The hills are baked by a hot summer sun and chilled by a cold winter wind that blows off the Pacific Ocean to the west. Las Pampas’ roughly 40 000 residents arrived gradually as squatters during the mid- to late 1980s. Over time, most have gained legal title to their 140 m2

Perceived benefits and liabilities of corrals

Forty-three (68%) of the families participating in phase I surveillance had some type of corral. However, most families constructed their corrals in a provisional manner and most kept their birds corralled only part of the time. Informants also reported keeping baby chickens and ducks inside the house or allowing them to enter at will. The most common motive for constructing a corral (Table 1) was to keep birds from being stolen. Other commonly mentioned reasons included to keep the birds from

Design and construction

We tested several designs in an effort to minimize cost, use local materials and make a corral affordable for Las Pampas residents. We settled on a wood frame design, walls of commercial fish netting and a fiberglass roof. The cost of this corral averaged $26.00, about S/. 90. The veterinarian and agronomist stated that birds of different age, sex, or species would become aggressive if kept in a single corral. To avoid this problem—and to avoid reinforcing local concerns about corralling being

Discussion

Community concerns about the effect of corralling on the health and productivity of birds relate to many issues. Most poultry growers in Las Pampas kept birds before moving to the city. In rural areas with more open space, it is customary to raise poultry loose or ‘free-range.’ Immigrants to shantytowns like Las Pampas often try to maintain their old customs in their new more cramped urban quarters. Many growers develop a strong affective relationship with their animals. Consistent with this

Acknowledgements

Our sincerest thanks to the residents and the health promoters of Las Pampas de San Juan de Miraflores for their participation and their many contributions and suggestions. Project veterinarian Dr Mónica Alba Chincha of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and agronomist Ing. Pedro Ciriaco of the Universidad Nacional Agraria-La Molina provided invaluable technical assistance. A.B. PRISMA and NAMRID Lima contributed tremendously to logistics, transportation and data collection and

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