Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Community Towards Rabies in Sinana District, Bale Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Rabies is a fatal neglected viral zoonosis which causes encephalitis in many animals and humans. It is an incurable disease once the clinical signs appear. However, it can be prevented via vaccination and community awareness. This study was conducted in Sinana woreda, Bale zone from October 2024 to May 2025 to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community toward rabies using a community based cross sectional study supported by structured questionnaire survey and multistage sampling technique was used to recruit participants. Out of 200 people interviewed, the majority of participants 196 (98%) had been heard of rabies previously and 95.5% of respondents were aware that dog is the most commonly affected. About 90% of them answered bite is the major source of rabies transmission and 43% of respondents claimed that they had seen a rabid animal, whereas 53.5% of participants responded that they had not seen but heard about it. There was statistically significant difference in knowledge score and educational levels and religion (P<0.05). However, age group, gender, occupation type and marital status could not revealed significant association with knowledge score. The majority of participants, 197(98.5%), had positive attitude towards anti-rabies post exposure vaccine and had expressed their willingness for taking the shot if bitten by suspected dog. Furthermore, 163 (81.5%) of the study respondents were cognizant of seeking medical management if they or someone bitten by a suspected rabid animal. Occupation type and gender are among the variables that had statistically significant association (P<0.05) with attitude score. The practice scores was significantly different across occupational types, age and marital status (p<0.05). These findings showed that the resident population had a good level of knowledge about rabies. Thus, an education outreach should be conveyed to ensure accurate knowledge, improve attitude and practice about rabies in this area and although close collaboration and integration of veterinary professionals, public health experts, and local authorities should stand together to fight the disease as they are the key elements for preventing and control of this very serious and fatal disease.