Factors Associated with Rabies Awareness and Attitude to Dog Bite in a University Community

Abstract

Preponderance of stray dogs at the study site necessitated assessment of awareness on rabies and associated factors, attitude to dog bite and knowledge on rabies among students and staff members in a University community. We reviewed hospital records for dog bite cases from 2005 to 2010 and administered structured questionnaire to 326 randomly selected respondents. Incomplete entries were removed and the remaining 315 entries analyzed using Epi-Info 3.5.1. Chi square test and multivariate analysis were done at 95% confidence interval. Ten dog bites cases were extracted from hospital records while 65 were reported from survey. Of the 65 cases, 67% were between the ages of 13 – 18 years; 41.4% had bite on the legs; 52.3% reported at the hospital within a few hours after the dog bite incidence. Of 34 respondents who reported at the hospital, only 37.6% received both wound treatment and post exposure vaccination. Of 315 respondents, 79% were aware of rabies. Majority (43%) reported to have heard from friends. Having at least secondary school education (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 3.7, Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.8 – 7.8), owning a dog (AOR = 8.2, CI = 2.4 – 27.8) and knowing bat as source of rabies (AOR = 4.7, C = 1.6 – 14.0) were significantly associated (P<0.05) with rabies awareness. Majority of the respondents have fair knowledge on rabies despite high awareness level. Educational level and dog ownership are associated with rabies awareness. Dog bite cases are under reported and friends can serve as good source of information dissemination.

Keywords: Knowledge; awareness; dog-bite; rabies, friends, University