Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of Rabies in Kirkuk City/Iraq

Abstract

Introduction: Community knowledge, attitudes and practices are important both for prevention of human deaths due to rabies and for control of disease in animals. This studywas a cross-sectional survey investigation the level of community knowledge as well as attitudes and practice about rabies in Kirkuk city, north of Iraq. Methods: A convenience sample (n= 311) was interviewed randomly from Kirkuk city from November 2018 – April 2019. Results: A total of (311) respondents were interviewed, of which 140 (45.02 %) were males and 171 (54.98%) were females. More than (81%) from participant knew the rabies can be transmitted from dogs, and more than (59%) knew the virus is the causative agent of rabies. Only (10 %) from participants knew the signs of rabid dog which shows nervous signs, However, (63.6 %) do not know the signs of rabid dogs. Conclusion: This study showed that Kirkuk community have poor knowledge on rabies and its risk. The statistical analysis showed P-value of (0<0.05) was considered statistically significant.