Department of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
J Travel Med. 2014 Jul-Aug;21(4):240-7. doi: 10.1111/jtm.12124. Epub 2014 May 20.
Rabies has become a forgotten and neglected disease in Japan. In 2006, there was a slight increase in social awareness of rabies when Japan had two reported cases of human rabies, originating in the Philippines. Although the number of Japanese either traveling or living in other Asian countries has been increasing, the exact risk of this population contracting rabies is unknown. Thus, this study utilized a questionnaire to investigate the incidence of rabies exposure, as well as the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward rabies prevention among Japanese expatriates and travelers in Thailand.
Japanese travelers and expatriates were asked questions related to knowledge, attitude, practice toward rabies risk, and experiences of potential rabies exposure such as animal bites, licks, and scratches. Questionnaires were either completed at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport and other tourist areas or distributed within Japanese associations in Thailand.
A total of 1,208 questionnaires from Japanese expatriates and 590 from Japanese travelers were collected and analyzed. We found high incidence rates of potential exposure events among these populations. In particular, Japanese travelers had the highest incidence rate compared to previous studies of international travelers in Thailand. While expatriates' incidence rates of animal bites, licks, and scratches were 1.7, 6.9, and 1.8/1,000 person-months, travelers have much higher incidence rates of 43.1, 136.1, and 33.0/1,000 person-months. Generally, travelers, compared to expatriates, tended to have less accurate knowledge and less often had the pre-exposure prophylaxis vaccination. Moreover, survey answers indicated that 55.0% of expatriates and 88.9% of travelers who were bitten would not seek proper treatment.
Since rabies is a preventable disease as long as one has the appropriate knowledge, attitude, and practice, it is essential to promote prevention activities for the Japanese population in Thailand to avert serious consequences of this disease.
在日本，狂犬病已成为一种被遗忘和忽视的疾病。2006 年，日本报告了两例源自菲律宾的人间狂犬病病例，这引起了公众对狂犬病的轻微关注。尽管前往或居住在其他亚洲国家的日本人数量不断增加，但该人群感染狂犬病的确切风险尚不清楚。因此，本研究采用问卷调查的方式，调查了在泰国的日本侨民和旅行者中狂犬病暴露的发生率，以及他们对狂犬病预防的知识、态度和实践情况。
我们向日本旅行者和侨民询问了与狂犬病风险相关的知识、态度、实践问题，以及动物咬伤、舔舐和抓伤等潜在狂犬病暴露的经历。调查问卷要么在曼谷素万那普国际机场和其他旅游区填写，要么在泰国的日本协会内分发。
共收集和分析了来自日本侨民的 1208 份问卷和来自日本旅行者的 590 份问卷。我们发现这些人群中潜在暴露事件的发生率很高。特别是，旅行者的发生率与泰国以往国际旅行者的研究相比最高。侨民的动物咬伤、舔舐和抓伤发生率分别为 1.7、6.9 和 1.8/1000 人月，而旅行者的发生率分别为 43.1、136.1 和 33.0/1000 人月。一般来说，旅行者与侨民相比，往往知识准确性较低，更不会进行暴露前预防接种。此外，调查结果表明，55.0%的被咬伤的侨民和 88.9%的旅行者不会寻求适当的治疗。
由于只要有适当的知识、态度和实践，狂犬病是可以预防的疾病，因此有必要在泰国为日本侨民开展预防活动，以避免这种疾病的严重后果。
