Knowledge and practices among the general practitioners of Karachi regarding dog bite management.

Shah, Syed Faraz Ul Hassan; Jawed, Munazza; Nooruddin, Shanila; Afzal, Sumaira; Sajid, Faisal; Majeed, Sana; Naveed, Munazza; Mustafa, Kamal; Azhar, Muhammad

OBJECTIVE To find out the knowledge and practices among the general practitioners (GPs) of Karachi regarding dog bite management. METHODS This cross sectional study was carried out in private and public Qlinics of Karachi using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. The study population was composed of 151 GPs with MBBS degree. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 12.0. RESULTS Out of total 151 general practitioners, 124 were male and 27/female doctors. The majority (77.5%) of GPs knew the cause of rabies, but only 51.7% knew about the incubation period. Only 19.4% GPs had appropriate knowledge about the first line treatment. Almost all GPs (98%) had no knowledge about the types of anti-rabies vaccine and only 19.2% knew about anti-rabies serum. CONCLUSION There is an apparent lack of awareness among GPs regarding appropriate animal wound management and vaccine administration. Reorientation programmes and continued medical education (CME) for GPs are required to highlight WHO guidelines regarding treatment of animal bite.