Knowledge, attitudes and practices about rabies prevention and control: A community survey in five health districts of Burkina Faso

Abstract

Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects humans and animals. It is transmitted by rabid animals, through bite, scratch or licking. Almost 99% of human cases are caused by dogs. In Burkina Faso, nearly 5,000 bites cases are recorded annually. This cross-sectional investigation was conducted with the objective of assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices of people regarding rabies and preventive measures in five health districts, Burkina Faso. Using a structured questionnaire, the survey was conducted in households to capture data on participants’ knowledge, attitudes and practices of rabies control. Through a house-to-house approach, the questionnaire was administrated to 320 household members. The results indicated that 36.9% of the participants had high level knowledge of rabies, 80% perceived it as a fatal disease, 76.4% of participant’s reported attitudes were negative and 58.9% of them reported uncorrect practices. The knowledge level of rabies was significantly associated with health district, area of household location, participant’s age, their level of education, previous history with rabies and information channels used by household (p<0.05). However, the health district, the area of household location, the level of education and the knowledge level had significant association with attitudes of participants with regard to rabies (p<0.05). Concerning health behaviours, health district of respondents and their previous history with rabies showed significant association with practices regarding bite cases management (p<0.05). In addition, people health seeking behaviors were significantly associated with their levels of knowledge regarding rabies, their perceptions and attitudes towards the disease (p<0.05). National rabies control stakeholders should address the knowledge gaps through mass awareness campaigns providing key information regarding the risks of contamination and the recommended practices to prevent avoidable deaths.

The Rabies Free Burkina Faso initiative: an example of how one health-oriented civil society organizations can contribute towards the achievement of the rabies zero by 30 goal

“…It is an example of building on achievements of the rabies community, demonstrating concrete accomplishments in the fight against the disease. In order to better inform decision-makers, founding members of the association have devoted many years to conduct situational research and build evidence on the rabies epidemiological status [ 3 , 9 ] as well as develop an understanding of community knowledge, attitudes and practices [ 17 , 18 ]. Subsequently, during the national One Health zoonotic diseases prioritization (OH-ZDP) conducted in 2017, rabies was ranked among the top five priority zoonotic diseases together with anthrax, tuberculosis, highly pathogenic avian influenza, and dengue [ 19 ].…”

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices About Rabies Prevention and Associated Factors in Wolaita Sodo City, Southern Ethiopia

“…The transmission of rabies virus to human or animal occurs through a close contact (bite, scraching, licking) with the saliva of a rabid animal. It is a high socio-economic impact zoonotic disease, mostly in Asia and Africa (19). Most common way of transmission for rabies (90%) is bite of infected animals like dogs, because of their intimate association with human being.…”