Prevalence, knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding rabies among bite victims: a cross-sectional study at a national hospital, Sri Lanka

Introduction: Rabies is a zoonotic disease of the central nervous system, caused by the neurotropic virus of the genus Lyssavirus of the family Rhabdoviridae. It is considered as one of the dreaded infectious diseases among warm-blooded animals, which progressed into invariably fatal encephalomyelitis. Method : Data was retrieved from the available records from January 2021 to December 2023 at the rabies diagnostic unit for the assessment of rabies prevalence. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using 113 bite victims attending the rabies diagnostic unit at National Hospital Galle, Sri Lanka from January 2023 to December 2023 using a modified pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire for the assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards rabies. Results : From the total samples received, 48%, 38% and 41% were confirmed positive for rabies by Sellers’ staining and/or direct fluorescent antibody test in year 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The reduction in rabies prevalence from 2021 to 2023 was statistically significant (p<0.05). Majority of the positive cases were of canine in origin and were domesticated animals. More than 90% of the positive cases were from the animals which were non-vaccinated or without a vaccination history. Around 2% of the positive cases were reported from the vaccinated animals. Of the total respondents, 40% were aware that rabies is an infectious disease and 61% knew that it is preventable. All the respondents knew that dogs and cats transmit the disease via bites, scratches and aerosols, however 69% believed the possibility of transmitting the disease by rats. Almost all the participants believed vaccination of dogs/cats as a preventive measure to control rabies and 70% knew that vaccination need to be done annually. The scores of knowledge level, attitudes and practices of respondents were in satisfactory levels and none of the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents’ contributed for the scores significantly. Conclusion : This study highlights the prevalence of rabies in non-vaccinated domestic animals with a significant percentage in dogs, although it shows a reduction in total number of positive cases with time. Further, the results revealed satisfactory level of knowledge, attitudes and practices on rabies among the bite victims to the rabies unit.