Involvement of Healthcare Staff from First Contact Health Establishments in the Elimination of Human Rabies in the Health Districts of Ferkessedougou and Kong in Ivory Coast, 2020

Abstract

Introduction: Rabies is endemic and constitutes a public health problem in Côte d'Ivoire. In the health districts of Kong and Ferkessedougou, exposure to rabies infection reported by the National Institute of Public Hygiene of Ferkessedougou averages 200 cases per year. However, in the involvement of health workers from First Contact Health Establishments (FCHE) of the 2 Districts, the management of exposed persons is unknown. This study aimed to determine the involvement of healthcare personnel in FCHE in the health districts of Ferkessedougou and Kong in the elimination of human rabies. Material and Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study with a descriptive aim which took place from October 21, 2020 to November 20, 2020. The data were collected using a questionnaire and then analyzed with the software EXCEL and Epi Info 3.5.3. Principle Results: It emerged from this study that the average age of the participants was 36.8 years with an average professional seniority of 5.07 years. The majority (73.90%) of healthcare staff have not received training on rabies. However, plenty of healthcare personnel respectively experienced the transmission of the rabies virus from animals to humans (98.60%), with dogs (97.10%) as the main animal vector of rabies to man, the bite (100%) as the way of contamination of rabies, the immediate washing with water and soap (66.70%), the administration of the anti-rabies vaccine (75.4%), the National Institute of Public Hygiene as a reference structure (63.