Page 75 - Read Online

Page 142 Akanbi et al. One Health Implement Res 2023;3:135-47 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ohir.2023.29

Table 6. Respondents’ socio-demographic factors and their attitudes to rabies
Attitude
*
Variable Associated with lower rabies risk Associated with higher rabies risk X 2* df P-value
n (%) n (%)
Sex
Male 109 (46.4) 126 (53.6) 6.15 1 0.01 *
Female 94 (35.5) 171 (64.5)
Age (years)
*
≤ 32 70 (25.6) 203 (74.4) 54.44 1 0.001
> 32 133 (58.6) 94 (41.4)
Level of education
No formal education 0 (0.0) 15 (100.0) 140.45 2 0.001 *
Primary to secondary 50 (18.8) 216 (81.2)
Tertiary 153 (69.9) 66 (30.1)
Number of years of keeping dogs
≤ 5 75 (28.8) 185 (71.2) 30.02 1 0.001 *
> 5 128 (53.3) 112 (46.7)
Occupation
*
Dog breeder 35 (38.5) 56 (61.5) 95.39 4 0.001
Unemployed 50 (56.2) 39 (43.8)
Student 35 (39.8) 53 (60.2)
Civil servant 52 (85.2) 9 (14.8)
Private business owner 31 (18.1) 140 (81.9)
* 2 * *
X : Chi square; df: degree of freedom; P-values ≤ 0.05 are significant.

reach and the possibility of spreading incorrect information. This indicates the need to adopt the One
Health approach involving veterinarians, medical doctors, and other concerned professionals in the
dissemination of authentic information about rabies to stop its spread in animal and human populations.

Furthermore, only 37.4% of the respondents knew that, besides dogs, other mammals could be infected with
rabies. This is similar to a work in Oyo State, Nigeria, which reported that only 37.5% of its respondents
were aware that other mammals could be infected by rabies . This reveals a knowledge gap as rabies has
[21]
been reported in other mammals in Nigeria . Only a few (12.4%) knew rabies could spread through licks
[23]
and contacts of the saliva of an infected animal with skin wounds and mucous membranes; thus, this
indicates that non-bite exposure to rabies is not commonly known and should be included in rabies
education programmes. More than a third (36.2%) of the respondents did not know rabies could be
prevented by vaccination. This is in tandem with a previous report in Ogun State and calls for more
[24]
extensive enlightenment on the importance of vaccination for canine and human rabies prevention. The
majority of the respondents had attitudes associated with higher rabies risk, as more than half (50.4%)
indicated that they could play with any dog regardless of its vaccination status. Meanwhile, most rabies
cases in Nigeria have been attributed to stray, free-roaming, and unvaccinated dogs . Attitudes towards
[5]
reporting the cases of dog bites in animals and humans to the hospital and submitting samples from
suspected rabid animals for laboratory testing pose a higher risk of rabies exposure. These negative attitudes
contribute to the underreporting of rabies cases, resulting in extremely limited data essential for the
adequate supply of the resources needed for rabies elimination .
[25]