Knowledge of rabies and dog-related behaviors among people in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

• Published in: Tropical Medicine and Health
• Main Authors: Sothy Sor, Michiyo Higuchi, Mohammad Abul Bashar Sarker, Nobuyuki Hamajima
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018
• Subjects: Rabies; Post-exposure prophylaxis; Knowledge; Behaviors; Rural population; Cambodia; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Siem
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-018-0102-0; https://doaj.org/article/58e52f6bf36048d79e43ede1c1122781

Abstract Background The rabies incidence and number of dogs in Cambodia are much higher than in nearby countries. Knowledge and behaviors which are related to rabies and/or dogs are considered to be contributing factors for rabies infection control in the community; however, such information in rural Cambodia is limited. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess knowledge and experiences related to rabies as well as dog-related behaviors among people in Siem Reap Province, and to identify the specific factors associated with adequate knowledge. Methods Four-stage sampling was employed to identify villages and households. In total, 360 respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data were descriptively summarized and logistic regression was performed to estimate odds ratios of adequate knowledge related to rabies for respondents’ characteristics. Results Only 9.7% of respondents had adequate knowledge of rabies. Of the respondents, 86.9 and 18.3% had experienced hearing of or seeing a suspected rabid dog and a suspected rabid human, respectively. More than two-thirds (70.6%) of households had at least one dog, and the ratio of dog to human populations was 1: 2.8. Only a few owners had vaccinated dogs, used a cage, or tied up their dog. Visiting a health center was the first choice of treatment for respondents when bitten by a dog. However, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) was not commonly expected as a treatment choice by respondents. Those with higher education were more likely to have adequate knowledge than those with no education (adjusted OR 12.34, 95% CI 2.64–57.99, p < 0.01). Farmers and non-poor families were also less likely to have adequate knowledge than those of other professions and poor families (adjusted OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.12–0.76, p = 0.01, and adjusted OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.04–0.47, p < 0.01, respectively). Conclusions High dog population, inadequate knowledge of rabies, low recognition of human rabies, and poor dog management were found to be serious challenges for ...