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258579

Assessment of the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Dog Owners on Rabies in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Article

Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

public health and preventive medicine

Abstract

Rabies is an acute viral zoonotic disease that affects all warm-blooded animals. Its constant evaluation of the perception of the public is essential. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices of dog owners on rabies in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. This was achieved by administering 150 structured questionnaires to dog owners, breeders and hunters in the study area using face to face interviews. The data collected were analysed using SPSS version 21. Dog owners with more than 3 dogs (13.3%) and those with one dog (50.7%) had the highest (80%) and least (47.4%) rabies vaccination rates respectively. Dogs kept for both breeding and security (18%) were vaccinated more than those kept for (74.1%) other reasons. Lhasa apso and local breeds were the highest (100%) and least (14.3%) vaccinated dogs in the study. Dogs < 1 year (30.7%) and those >6 years (0.7%) recorded (65.2%) and (0%) current rabies vaccination status respectively, while 90% and 72.6% of the respondents knew about rabies and its transmission to man respectively, only 58.7% had updated rabies vaccination for their dogs. Although 56% of the dog owners in this study rightly indicated how rabies is transmitted, 16% and 64.7% didn't know how humans contract the disease and the clinical presentations in dogs respectively. Most (35.6%) respondents that didn't have up to date vaccinations for their dogs didn't have cogent reasons for failing to do so. Dog owners that were not knowledgeable about pre-exposure rabies vaccination were 58.7% while only 7.3 % of them had received previous shots of the vaccine. Dog bite experience was recorded in 78% of the respondents while only 20.7% of the 82.7% that claimed to know what to do when bitten by a dog identified the right course of action. Most (69.3%) respondents however indicated they would seek medical help at the government hospital (40%) if bitten by a rabid dog. The result of this study showed that there is some knowledge gap in the knowledge of rabies among stakeholders in the study area. Periodic mass rabies awareness campaigns to improve the perception of the disease in the study area is indicated.

DOI

10.21608/javs.2022.154332.1168

Keywords

Attitude, dog owners, Knowledge, Practices, rabies

Authors

First Name

J.

Last Name

Aiyedun

MiddleName

O.

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Email

olaaiyedun@yahoo.com

City

Ilorin

Orcid

-

First Name

A.

Last Name

Darajat

MiddleName

T.

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Email

darajat@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Daodu

Last Name

B.O.

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Email

daodu.femi@gmail.com

City

Ilorin

Orcid

0000-0002-0653-0315

First Name

Oludairo

Last Name

O.O.

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Email

oludairo@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-8835-8853

First Name

I.

Last Name

Olorunshola

MiddleName

D.

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Email

idolorunshola@yahoo.com

City

Ilorin

Orcid

0000-0003-0696-8381

First Name

Nwoha

Last Name

R.I.O.

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Medicine, Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria

Email

rosemarynwoha@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

I.

Last Name

Oluboyede

MiddleName

S.

Affiliation

Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Email

oluboyede@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

7

Article Issue

4

Related Issue

36505

Issue Date

2022-10-01

Receive Date

2022-08-04

Publish Date

2022-10-01

Page Start

81

Page End

87

Print ISSN

1687-4072

Online ISSN

2090-3308

Link

https://javs.journals.ekb.eg/article_258579.html

Detail API

https://javs.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=258579

Order

12

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,095

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Journal of Applied Veterinary Sciences

Publication Link

https://javs.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Assessment of the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Dog Owners on Rabies in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023