ABSTRACT:
Abstract Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is an important zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, and it exists worldwide. Humans can acquire the infection from infected animals through aerosols or consumption of infected animal products. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2024 to July 2025 to assess the bovine tuberculosis knowledge, attitude, and practice of abattoir workers in the Eastern Cape province. A total of 151 participants were involved in the study, and they were selected using purposive sampling. The results showed that most (62%) participants know about the disease BTB. Majority (66.9%) of the participants knew that BTB can be transmitted from infected cattle to humans and vice versa. With respect to their scores, only 32.5% of the participants had good knowledge of the disease BTB. Education had a significant correlation (r=0.306, p<0.01) with knowledge, proving how education is a determinant of knowledge. The majority (70%) of the participants believed that abattoir workers are among people who are at risk of contracting tuberculosis. About 25.2% of the participants believed that condemned meat is not necessarily bad to consume. Amongst all the participants 94.7% of them claimed they always wear masks and gloves during working hours. According to their overall scores, most (76.8%) participants had good practice. There was a significant correlation between age (r = 0.226, p < 0.01), work title (r = -0.211, p < 0.01), and knowledge (r = 0.323, p < 0.01), and abattoir workers BTB practice. Majority of the participants are aware of the disease BTB, but only a third have a good level of knowledge. These results emphasise the need for awareness campaigns to improve knowledge and practice to reduce occupational risk amongst abattoir workers in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.