A study of certain Sociodemographic factors among patients with dog bite in Mulky community health centre, Dakshina kannada district

Introduction: Rabies an archaic zoonotic disease. Nearly 15 million people are bitten by animals in India every year, with dogs being responsible for 96.2% of the bites. The most vulnerable members of society are children and poor or lower socio-economic classes. A majority of the victims had taken a partial course of vaccine. Methodology: Longitudinal study was conducted in the of CHC Mulky, among patients registered from Novmber2015 to April 2016. All the patients receiving anti rabies vaccine in the OPD during study period who are willing to participate in the study were included in the study. After obtaining informed consent, the participants were administered the pre-tested, structured questionnaire at the time of first visit. Results: The number of study subjects over a period of 6 months was235; all of them were bitten by dogs. Majority of them belongs 21 to 30 age group (22.9%). Males are more compared to females.89.7% subjects belongs Hindu religion followed by Muslims. 60% subjects belongs to BPL family. Only 34.4% subjects completed the full course of treatment. Conclusion: This study shows that dog bites affect people of all age groups. Though people are aware of the necessity to approach a health facility following dog bite they are not motivated to complete the full course of vaccination following exposure. There is a need to create awareness regarding adherence to treatment through a strong information education and communication programme among the community.