1. Assessment of respondents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward rabies and associated risk factors in Shone Town, Southern Ethiopia.
- Author
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Beresa TG, Beriso TE, Kassa TB, and Kebede IA
- Subjects
- Ethiopia epidemiology, Adult, Humans, Animals, Male, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Dogs, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult, Adolescent, Rabies Vaccines administration & dosage, Aged, Rabies veterinary, Rabies prevention & control, Rabies epidemiology, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Dog Diseases prevention & control, Dog Diseases epidemiology, Dog Diseases virology
- Abstract
Importance: Rabies is a neglected tropical viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal., Objective: This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Shone Town community toward rabies., Methods: A survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Shone town, Ethiopia, from November 2022 to April 2023. Woreda was selected purposefully, while Kebeles and the study populations were selected by simple random sampling. Four hundred and sixteen respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire., Results: All respondents had heard about rabies from different sources, with the majority hearing from informal sources (62%). Approximately 51.9%, 0.7%, and 47.4% of individuals were aware of saliva contact, rabid animal bites, and both as means of transmission, respectively. The survey showed that 64.4% of participants knew the 100% fatal nature of rabies once the clinical signs developed, and 35.6% did not. Approximately 51.4% of respondents agreed that killing stray dogs was an effective method for rabies prevention. In this study, 72.6% of the respondents had contact with pets, and 36.8% of the interviewees had vaccinated their dogs. Only the educational level ( p = 0.03) was associated with knowledge of the transmission route. Age ( p = 0.04) and educational level ( p = 0.01) had a statistically significant association with knowledge of the risk of not vaccinating dogs., Conclusions and Relevance: A lack of formal education in the communities, low levels of education, and the majority of respondents acquiring their knowledge from unofficial sources are important contributors to the low levels of awareness., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.)
- Published
- 2024
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