Lounis Mohamed, Zarif Mousab, Zeroug Zoubida, Brahimi Salma Soulaf Ferial, Meddour Zineb
Laboratoire d'Exploration et Valorisation des Écosystèmes Steppiques, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Djelfa, P.O. Box 3117, Djelfa 17000, Algeria.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, University of Djelfa, P.O. Box 3117, Djelfa 17000, Algeria.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Jul 27;14(15):2193. doi: 10.3390/ani14152193.
(1) Background: Rabies is a neglected zoonosis considered to be one of the most significant health threats in the world, responsible of thousands of deaths globally. Algeria is one of the main countries of concern, with more than 15 deaths and more than 100,000 bites by rabid-suspected animals being reported annually. This study was conducted to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) toward this disease among university students in the endemic region of Algeria. (2) Methods: a cross-sectional online survey was conducted between June 2023 and March 2024 using a self administered questionnaire. (3) Results: a total of 409 students completed the questionnaire. Overall, 91.2% of them were singles, 70.7% were females, and two-thirds (66%) were between their twenties and thirties in regard to age. The majority were studying for Bachelor's degrees, and the most represented fields of study were Humanities (31.5%) and Natural and Life Sciences (29.1%).The findings revealed a moderate level of knowledge (63% of correct responses), a positive attitude, and appropriate practices. However, the surveyed students have certain gaps in their information regarding disease transmission, its risk factors, and its clinical signs. In addition, some of them have also shown some negative attitudes, including approving of the systematic killing of a dog who bites someone regardless of its vaccine status (59.2%), and inappropriate practices, especially in regard to unawareness of the importance of early washing of bite wounds, which was reported among 64.5% of the surveyed students. The study also revealed the association of health sciences education with knowledge (AOR: 2.723, CI 95%: 1.317-5.634), attitude (AOR: 2.306, CI 95%: 1.113-4.779) and practice (AOR: 3.560, CI 95%: 1.632-7.769), and the effect of the high level of knowledge on the attitude of surveyed students (AOR: 1.607, CI 95%: 1.052-2.456). (4) Conclusion: These results provide the first report regarding rabies KAP among Algerian university students. Based on these results, the health deciders could adopt their preventive strategy by raising awareness of the less-informed categories, which would consequently affect their behaviors regarding this fatal disease.
（1）背景：狂犬病是一种被忽视的人畜共患病，被认为是世界上最严重的健康威胁之一，在全球导致数千人死亡。阿尔及利亚是主要受关注的国家之一，每年报告有超过15人死亡以及超过10万例被疑似患有狂犬病的动物咬伤的病例。本研究旨在评估阿尔及利亚狂犬病流行地区大学生对该疾病的知识、态度和实践（KAP）水平。（2）方法：于2023年6月至2024年3月期间通过自行填写问卷的方式进行了一项横断面在线调查。（3）结果：共有409名学生完成了问卷。总体而言，其中91.2%为单身，70.7%为女性，三分之二（66%）的学生年龄在二十多岁到三十多岁之间。大多数学生攻读学士学位，最具代表性的研究领域是人文学科（31.5%）和自然与生命科学（29.1%）。研究结果显示知识水平中等（正确回答率为63%）、态度积极且实践得当。然而，参与调查的学生在疾病传播、风险因素及其临床症状方面的信息存在一定差距。此外，他们中的一些人还表现出一些消极态度，包括赞成无论狗的疫苗接种状况如何，只要咬了人就将其 systematic 处死（59.2%），以及不当的做法，特别是对咬伤伤口早期清洗的重要性认识不足，64.5%的参与调查学生报告了这一情况。该研究还揭示了健康科学教育与知识（比值比：2.723，95%置信区间：1.317 - 5.634）、态度（比值比：2.306，95%置信区间：1.113 - 4.779）和实践（比值比：3.560，95%置信区间：1.632 - 7.769）之间的关联，以及高知识水平对参与调查学生态度的影响（比值比：1.607，95%置信区间：1.052 - 2.456）。（4）结论：这些结果提供了关于阿尔及利亚大学生狂犬病KAP的首份报告。基于这些结果，卫生决策者可以通过提高信息了解较少群体的认识来采取预防策略，这将进而影响他们对这种致命疾病的行为。
