Rabies menace and control – An insight into knowledge, attitude and practices

BackgroundThere are very few community-based epidemiological studies on knowledge, attitude and practice about rabies prevention and control. This cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the same in an urban slum area.MethodsA random sample of 200 people was selected from an urban slum area. A pre-tested pro-forma was used to collect the data.ResultAll study participants had knowledge of rabies transmission by dog bite compared to only 23% having knowledge about its transmission by scratches and licks. Only 40% of the participants were aware that the disease would cause fatal illness. As a first aid measure after dog bite, 66% of the participants responded that they would wash the wound with water, 24% said that they would visit a doctor and the rest responded that either they would do nothing (3%) or would adopt some unconventional methods/religious practices (7%) to prevent the development of rabies. 55.5% of participants were aware about the role of vaccine in preventing rabies.ConclusionThe level of awareness about rabies and its control measures is not high. The attitudes and practices of the respondents reflect the lack of IEC activities, inaccessibility of treatment facilities and the lack of services that would enable community participation in rabies control.