Knowledge about rabies and its influencing factors in pet dog breeders

Objective To investigate the level of the knowledge about rabies and its influencing factors among community pet dog breeders in Shihezi city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and to provide a reference for health education among the public.Methods Stratified cluster sampling method was used and 201 pet dog breeders residing in 16 buildings were randomly selected and investigated with a questionnaire survey.Scores for rabies knowledge were compared by Kruskal-Wallis H test and the pass rates by Chi-square test.Logistic regression model was adopted in data analyses.Results For the 201 pet dog breeders,the passing rate of rabies knowledge was 74.6%(150/201) and the average score was 66.76 ± 12.99.The passing rate of rabies-related knowledge gradually increased with the education level of the breeders(χ²_linear=12.331,P <0.01).The pet dog breeders with the education of junior high school or below has the lowest passing rate of rabies knowledge,with an average score of 60.21±12.20.The passing rate among the breeders with monthly income above 3 000 RMB yuan was higher than that with monthly income below 3 000 RMB yuan(χ²=12.946,P=0.005).The breeders keeping a pet dog for 60 months or more had a higher passing rate than those less than 60 months(χ²=6.321,P=0.042).Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that pet dog breeders with the education of college(odds ratioOR=13.969,95% confidenee interval95%CI:3.565-54.732),with the education of undergraduate or above(OR=8.238,95%CI=2.026-33.501),having the monthly income of 3 000 RMB yuan or more(OR=3.819,95%CI=1.606-9.082),and keeping a dog more than 60 months(OR=6.229,95%CI=1.926-20.143) had a high passing rate of rabies knowledge.Conclusion The awareness rate of rabies knowledge among pet dog breeders in Shihezi city is low and education,income and the time of keeping a dog are main influencing factors for the knowledge.Specific health education should be strengthened by government agencies among pet dog owners,especially in those with lower education,low-income and less time of keeping a dog.