Investigation of outpatients exposed to rabies on knowledge of rabies in Huangpu District， Shanghai

ObjectiveTo determine the awareness and knowledge of exposure to rabies of outpatients， and then provide strategies to reduce the occurrence of rabies in Huangpu district， Shanghai.

MethodsA total of 293 patients attending the clinic due to exposure to rabies were selected to complete the questionnaire survey， including demographics， characteristics of exposure， and knowledge and awareness of rabies， using an application scanning.

ResultsThe outpatients in this study were more likely to be women and aged 20-40 years. The exposed sites were mainly upper limbs， and injuries mainly caused by their own pets during playing. The knowledge of rabies， its harm and route of infection， as well as the time of vaccination against rabies and notes after vaccination have been well-documented. However， awareness of clinical manifestation of rabies and treatment after re-injury was lowest. There were significant difference in the clinical manifestation and incubation period of rabies across diverse occupations. There are multiple factors that affected the knowledge and awareness of exposure to rabies， in which the knowledge of rabies was strongly associated with the knowledge of treatment. The primary source of exposure was media， including the Internet， television and radio， WeChat and medical staff.

ConclusionThe cognition of outpatients on exposure to rabies remains low. We should optimize the educational methods and implement various health education and promotion activities for rabies control and prevention to improve the knowledge and awareness of exposure to rabies.