Abstract            Volume:13  Issue-5  Year-2025         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Rabies is a highly fatal viral disease of all warm-blooded animals including humans. In developing countries, dogs remain the principal host transmitting infection to humans. Even though rabies is a highly fatal disease, it is a preventable disease. Community awareness about rabies is one of the key components for prevention. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of a rural community in East Dembiya District, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2022 to March 2023. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data through face-to-face interviews among 100 respondents. In this study, 98 % of respondents were aware of the disease rabies. About 94 % of the respondents believe that rabies is a fatal disease whereas 34% believe that it is a treatable disease. Ninety-three percent of respondents know that dogs are a primary source of infection for humans. Eighty-five percent of the respondents didn’t know the accurate cause of the disease and only 15% answered that the causative agent is the virus. Based on the respondents, 67% of them responded that the disease was transmitted through biting, scratching, and licking open wounds. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents have stray dogs in their immediate neighborhood. Of these respondents, actions were performed to control stray dogs by killing 62.3% (n = 48), aware the owner 27.3% (n = 21), ting 10.4% (n = 8), and birth control 2.6% (n =2). Thirty percent of all respondents prefer traditional treatment to medical treatment when exposed to rabies. Only 24% of respondents vaccinate their dogs against rabies. In this study, the overall KAP score recorded indicated a low level of overall awareness. Thus, close collaboration and integration of public health, the veterinary sector, and local authorities is a key element for preventing this fatal incurable disease.

Download this article as