Characteristics of Exposures Presented by Dog Bites and Adherence to Anti-rabies Treatment by Patients Visiting Selected Hospitals in Kisii County, Kenya

Dog bites constitute a substantial public health problem in Africa and Asia. Rabies still remains a lethal infection spread by rabid animals' saliva that damages the central nervous system and is completely 100% fatal. An individual can be infected with the disease via a bit from a rabid dog. In Africa and Asia continents constitute the regions that are highly affected with human rabies fatalities globally. In Kisii County, the emergence of stray dogs has made rabies a significant problem. This study aimed to assess Types and severity of exposures presented by the dog bites patients visiting selected hospitals in Kisii County, Kenya. The research examined. A hospital-based, random cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted, involving 289 dog bite patients as respondents from the selected hospitals in Kisii County. Dog bite patients were provided with a carefully constructed a survey with both closed- and open-ended questions for quantitative analysis. A chi-square test was utilized to assess the significance of categorical variables. The data was gathered and analyzed using SPSS software version 25. The study revealed that there was no significant correlation between adhering to rabies PEP treatment after a dog-bite and the affected part of the body or severity of exposure (p-value=0.071). Furthermore, the circumstances of the bite did not demonstrate a significant relationship with adherence to post-exposure prophylaxis after a dog bite (p-value=0.641). As a result, the investigation failed to reject the null hypothesis and concluded that there is no association between the type and severity of exposure and adherence to rabies PEP treatment. Regarding the type of exposure, majority of the respondent (50.5%) reported dog bites, 37% scratches and 12.5% with dog licks. Further, 70.9% of the patients had the types of bite indicated in their patient’s card. Out of the 70.9% patients; 58.5% were in the first WHO category and 29.3% were in the second category. The Kisii County medical services, public health, and sanitation department have subsidized prices for anti-rabies vaccines and conduct rigorous tracing of rabies PEP treatment defaulters. The veterinary department is responsible for implementing mass dog vaccination in the county. Lastly, the National Social Health Insurance Fund (NSHIF) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) should ensure that their schemes include the issuance of anti-rabies vaccines for their members.