Health literacy reductionism: when individual deficits become the default explanation.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral infection of cattle that results in substantial economic losses (Sharma and Kumar, ). The causative agent, lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), is classified within the family Poxviridae and the genus (Babiuk et al., ; Tuppurainen et al., ). Antigenically, LSDV is closely related to sheep‐pox and goatpox viruses. Over recent decades, the virus has become endemic throughout most of Africa and has expanded beyond the continent into the Middle East, Central Asia, China and several Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam (Arjkumpa et al., ; Khoo et al., ; Lu et al., ; Nugroho et al., ; Tran et al., ). Its continued geographic expansion highlights its increasing international transboundary importance for animal health and livestock production (Shumilova et al., ). Epidemiological reports from regions such as mainland China, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia indicate that LSD outbreaks occur predominantly between April and October. This marked seasonal pattern is thought to be linked to increased activity of haematophagous insect vectors during these months (Acharya and Subedi, ; Lu et al., ; Tuppurainen et al., ). According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the epidemiological situation of LSD in Kazakhstan is currently considered as stable. During 2016–2017, outbreaks were recorded to have spread from Russia's Astrakhan and Chelyabinsk regions into several areas of Kazakhstan, including Mangystau, Atyrau and Kostanay (Amirgazin and Ragatova, ; Orynbayev et al., ). Subsequent evidence suggested that by 2018, LSDV had also reached the northern and southern regions of the country (Issimov et al., ). However, these occurrences were not officially documented, and their epidemiological implications remain unclear. Considering the presence of epizootic foci of LSD in transboundary regions adjacent to Kazakhstan, coupled with the large cattle population in the country's western and northern areas, there exists a tangible risk of disease re‐entering the western and northern regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the Mangystau, West Kazakhstan, Aktobe, North Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions. Studies on the risk factors that influence the occurrence of LSD showed a prevalence of 10.2% at animal level and 49.2% at herd level in West Kazakhstan regions (Issimov et al., ). However, no studies have been carried out on the seroprevalence of LSD across the country. In Kazakhstan, moreover, agriculture constitutes a critical component of rural livelihoods, with livestock production serving as a primary source of income for smallholder farms (Kulpiisova et al., ; Seisenov et al., ). Evidence from recent studies demonstrates that small‐scale livestock producers in Kazakhstan generally rely on basic husbandry practices and have limited awareness of animal disease risks and biosecurity measures (Bayantassova et al., ; Ginayatov et al., ; Kulpiisova et al., ; Kulpiisova et al., ; Tursunkulov et al., ; Urazayeva et al., ). In light of these gaps, the objectives of the present study were: (i) to estimate the animal‐ and herd‐level seroprevalence of lumpy skin disease virus in selected regions of Kazakhstan; (ii) to assess associations between seropositivity, herd size and geographic region and (iii) to evaluate livestock owners’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the disease.