Abortive Zoonoses in Benin: Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Gap Among Front-Line Small-Ruminant Production Stakeholders.

Abortive zoonoses represent a major public-health threat and a significant constraint on small-ruminant production in West Africa, particularly in Benin. Yet they remain largely undocumented from the perspective of frontline actors. This cross-sectional study assessed the levels of knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of Beninese farmers, butchers, meat inspectors, and para-veterinary staff. A structured questionnaire containing 28 items (11 knowledge, 9 attitudes, 8 perception) was administered to four professional groups (small ruminant keeper, para-veterinarian, butcher and meat inspectors) from four communes in the South, Central, and North of Benin. The number of correct and desirable responses was evaluated on a 0-100% scale. Overall, respondents demonstrated limited knowledge (50.4 ± 25.2%), highly undesirable attitudes (71.0 ± 23.2%) (higher attitude score means risky practices), and likely desirable (65.0 ± 24.4%) toward abortive zoonoses. Mixed-effect linear regression revealed that knowledge was generally higher among trained professionals such as meat inspectors and para-veterinarians. On the other hand, farmers and butchers showed larger informational gaps and more frequent risky practices. Respondents with previous experience of livestock abortion tended to be more aware of zoonotic risks but did not consistently translate this awareness into safer behavior. Correlations between knowledge and perception were weak and non-significant (r = 0.14;