Raiva humana e transmissão do vírus rábico por morcegos: o que sabe e como se informa a população de um município sob risco na Amazônia brasileira

Abstract

The objective of this study was to verify what the population of Curuçá, a municipality in the Amazon of Pará, in which bat attacks are second in reports of aggression by animals, knows about the transmission, prevention and risks of rabies, especially that transmitted bats, as well as identifying the means of communication used by the population to inform themselves about the disease and news in general. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out, with a sample of 377 city dwellers, randomly selected by means of a proportional stratified sampling, considering the census sectors of Curuçá as strata. These subjects answered a semi-structured questionnaire to assess what they knew about rabies and the means used to obtain this information. As a result, it was found that the majority of respondents (72.9%) stated that they know what rabies is, although they do not know how to indicate aspects such as reservoirs, forms of transmission and symptoms, in addition to not presenting self-care practices for rabies. prevention. It was also found that the bat is the second most present animal in reports of aggressions (24.6%) and that the majority of respondents (67.9%) were unaware of the outbreaks in the state in 2004 and 2005. It was concluded with this study that the knowledge of the population of Curuçá about rabies is limited, obtained mainly in their own circle of coexistence, through personal contacts and as for the mass media, a preference was found to obtain information by means that do not require reading, such as television and radio. This work points out what content needs to be accessible to this population and the means of communication that would be most effective in this socio-geographical and cultural context.