ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. One Health
Prevalence and risk factors of zoonotic diseases on the human-wildlife-livestock interface in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, South Africa
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- 2Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Zoonotic diseases pose a significant threat to food security, rural livelihoods, and public health in Southern Africa, where frequent interactions among humans, livestock, and wildlife facilitate disease spill over. This study investigated the prevalence and risk factors of zoonotic diseases among smallholder livestock farmers in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Primary data were collected from 155 farmers using a structured questionnaire, and the analysis combined descriptive statistics with a multivariate probit model. The findings revealed notable vulnerabilities. Only 2% of farmers had ever tested their livestock for zoonotic diseases, while 9% reported livestock abortions, a potential indicator of reproductive zoonoses. Risky consumption behaviours were common: 32% of farmers consumed raw milk, 17% raw meat, and 9% raw eggs. Reliance on unsafe water sources was widespread, with 60% depending on rivers and 6% on dams for livestock water. Awareness of zoonotic diseases was very limited, as 44% of respondents could not identify any associated risk factors, and 24% cited restricted access to information. Poor biosecurity practices were reported by 22% of farmers, while 16% had direct contact with wildlife and 19% consumed wildlife products, further elevating exposure risks. The multivariate probit model identified significant predictors of zoonotic risk, including goat ownership, hunting and trapping, raw animal-product consumption, age, gender, and education. Strengthening veterinary surveillance, expanding farmer awareness programmes, and investing in safe water infrastructure are critical to reducing zoonotic transmission at the human–wildlife–livestock interface.
Keywords: Disease prevalence, human-wildlife-livestock interface, One Health approach, Risk factors, Smallholder farmers, South Africa, Veterinary Epidemiology, zoonotic diseases
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 27 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ngcobo, Mdoda, Verschoor, Mkhize and Qange. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lelethu Mdoda
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.