Spotted fever (SF) is a tick-borne rickettsial disease that in Brazil affects mainly the economically active population. The occupational risk attributed to veterinarians, biologists and animal handlers is due to exposure to disease vectors. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices relating to SF in a group of veterinary medicine students. A descriptive analysis was conducted among 173 students at a private higher education institution in the Brazilian Federal District. The participants were asked about their knowledge of SF, their attitudes when they found ticks on their body and practices relating to tick handling, treatment and prevention. The results showed that 84% of the respondents had heard about SF. Almost half of the respondents answered that SF is a tick-borne disease. Most respondents knew about prevention methods, and the main method cited was treatment of the animals with acaricides. Regarding attitudes towards SF, it was observed that most respondents removed ticks by hand. None of the respondents were using appropriate protective equipment when exposed to the vector. Although this population was well informed about SF and its preventive measures, this knowledge was not reflected in implementation of prevention practices.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.