Rabies in two communities of Ethekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa: knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP)

Abstract

Background: Despite the important role dogs play in society, they are vectors of rabies and as a result they can be a danger to human beings. People who lack knowledge of the disease are at higher risk of contracting the disease and even dying from rabies. Recent reports show a rise in canine rabies cases in the province of KwaZulu-Natal compared to other provinces in South Africa. This study investigated knowledge, attitude and practices regarding rabies in two selected communities in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional questionnaire-based study design was adopted for this study. Systematic random sampling was employed to select respondents ≥18 years (n = 768). Data was captured in Microsoft Excel 365. Proportions and their 95% confidence intervals were computed for categorical variables. A logistic regression model was used to investigate factors that predict knowledge of rabies as the outcome. Statistical significance was set at α < 0.05. Results: The majority of respondents (79.04%, n = 607) were of the view that receiving an anti-rabies injection was important. Equally, a very high percentage of respondents (78.26%, n = 601) indicated that they would seek medical attention immediately after being bitten by a suspected rabid dog. In addition, just over half (52.47%, n = 403) of the respondents said they would quarantine a dog that had bitten someone. On the contrary, a small percentage of the respondents (23.83%, n = 183) said that they would not take any action regarding the dog. A very low number (34.51%, n = 265) did not think it would be appropriate to put down a suspected rabid dog. Pet ownership was the only factor that was a significant (p < 0.05) predictor of a high knowledge score for rabies disease, with people who owned pets twice as likely to obtain a high knowledge score for rabies compared to those who did not own pets. Conclusion: The study identified gaps in the knowledge of rabies in the study population. Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents were identified that predict a high knowledge score for rabies. Therefore, educational programmes for the control of canine rabies must take into consideration the identified socio-demographic characteristics of community members.