Knowledge Regarding Rabid Animal Bite among Rural Community People

Background: Rabies is an important public health problem in Bangladesh and is at the top of the list among the zoonotic diseases. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the level of knowledge regarding rabid animal bite among rural community people. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted among 345 rural community people from 1st January to 31st December, 2019 in several villages of Kaligonj in Gazipur district. Convenience sampling was adopted and a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 39.63 ±13.35 years where majority (84.1%, n=290) of them were female and 81.7% (n=282) were literate. Only 4.9% (n=17) heard about rabies from health personnel, 14.2% (n=49) from mass media, 20.0% (n=69) from books and 60.9% (n=210) from general people. Most of the respondents 98.8% (n=314) knew that rabies is caused by infection from bite of rabid animal. Most of the respondents (97.7%, n=337) had knowledge that one should be vaccinated after bite of an animal. Majority of the respondents (92.8%, n=320) knew that rabies is preventable, 84.6% (n=292) knew about fatality of the disease.Half of the respondents (50.7%, n=175) had knowledge that rabies can be prevented by vaccination of rabid animals.Majority of the respondents (58.8%, n=203) had average knowledge regarding rabid animal bite while others had good (38.8%, n=134), and poor (2.3%, n=8) knowledge. Statistical significancewas found regarding level of knowledge and educational status (p<0.001). Conclusion: Majority of the rural community people had average level of knowledge regarding rabid animal bite. There is strong need for educational initiatives involving the local population and the public health authorities to support the rabies elimination program in Bangladesh.