Awareness towards Rabies in the residents of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal.

SummaryRabies is a neglected tropical zoonotic disease, causing the majority of global human rabies deaths in developing countries of Asia and Africa. The objective of the study was to identify the social and demographic characteristics of the residents and pet (dogs and cats) owners of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. A cross-sectional study was carried during March - April ۲۰۱۷ to assess the community awareness and knowledge towards rabies by applying a semi-structured questionnaire. Awareness level was high on rabies about its cause (۸۷.۵%) and symptoms (۹۱.۹۴%). All respondents have knowledge that it is transmitted by the bite of rabid animals (۱۰۰%), is a fatal disease (۸۵.۶۳%), is a vaccine preventable (۹۶.۲۵%), and is curable (۶۰%) if treated before the onset of clinical symptoms. All the respondents would visit a hospital after being bitten by a stray dog/cat, while only (۵۶.۴۳%) of respondents would visit a hospital if being bitten by a pet dog/cat (۵۶.۴۳%). Furthermore, ۸۷.۳۶% of them reported that they would visit the hospital on the day of the bite. The respondents had positive attitudes and practices towards rabies as all the pet owners had vaccinated their pets against rabies, ۹۸.۲۸% mentioned that they would notify the concerned authorities in case of rabies outbreaks; approximately ۴۷.۴۱% will kill a rabid stray dog and either bury it or inform the municipality for its proper disposal. The results indicate the knowledge gaps about rabies in the community that could be improved by a rabies awareness campaigns, public health education, and vaccination campaigns.

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Keywords: Awareness , rabies , knowledge , Nepal