Awareness of Zoonotic Diseases among the Bachelor of Science New Entrants at the Open University of Sri Lanka in 2020
Vidyani Kulatunga, Shehani Fernando, Uthpala Jayawardena, Chanika Jayasinghe
Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases · pp. 21–31 · Published 29 Apr 2023
10.9734/ajrid/2023/v13i1257Abstract
Global attention towards zoonotic diseases has been oriented with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as they are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, and they pose a significant threat to public health. This study draws on the awareness of a group of new BSc degree registrants (N=267) at The Open University of Sri Lanka in 2020 about common zoonotic diseases. A cross-sectional study was employed for the participants in a virtual orientation session in December 2020 using a structured online questionnaire. Pearson Chi-square test (χ2) was used evaualte statistical significance at p<0.05. The survey reveals that from the total respondents, 89.9% were aware of zoonotic diseases in humans by animals, 77.9% are aware that zoonotic diseases can be transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected animals and 75.3% knew that zoonotic diseases can be transmitted by eating raw meat of infected animals. Further, 82.4% and 86.1% of respondents agreed that zoonotic diseases could be treated and prevented while 85.4% agreed that zoonotic diseases could be controlled. The majority of the respondents were aware of Rabies, Covid 19, Malaria, Dengue fever and SARS as zoonotic diseases and a higher proportion of female respondents identified Hepatitis E as a zoonotic disease. Bovine tuberculosis was identified by students who studied biological sciences compared to other streams. Respondents below 24 years of age identified Anthrax and Leptospirosis, SARS and Trichinellosis as zoonotic diseases than other age categories. Students in suburban areas had a higher tendency to identify Ebola virus disease, Giardiasis, and Hepatitis E as zoonotic diseases. Urban and suburban students had a higher tendency to wash their hands thoroughly after petting the animals. Pet owners only identified Giardiasis as a zoonotic disease and agreed that avoiding direct contact with animals, avoidance of rearing pets indoors and discarding pet faeces in a proper place as good practices to avoid the transmission of zoonoses. Most of the respondents agreed that zoonotic diseases could be prevented by avoiding eating raw meat, avoiding eating unwashed fresh fruits and vegetables, avoiding direct contact with animals, avoiding rearing pets indoors, regular vaccination of pets, proper discharge of animal faeces, washing the hands thoroughly after petting the animals. Overall, this study revealed that the level of awareness about zoonotic diseases among the new BSc registrants was satisfactory. It is inferred that the students could be more educated about the preventive and control measures for zoonotic diseases. It is expected that students will develop essential life skills that are required for the prevention and control of diseases.
References (15)
- 1 Risk factors for human disease emergence [DOI]
- 2 Global hotspots and correlates of emerging zoonotic diseases [DOI]
- 3 Climate change and zoonoses: A review of the current status, knowledge gaps, and future trends [DOI]
- 4 Ecological sources of zoonotic diseases [DOI]
- 5 Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: Should We Rethink the Animal–Human Interface? [DOI]
- 6 Economic optimization of a global strategy to address the pandemic threat [DOI]
- 7 Global Diversity and Distribution of Hantaviruses and Their Hosts [DOI]
- 8 Milk and meat consumption patterns and the potential risk of zoonotic disease transmission among urban and peri-urban dairy farmers in Ethiopia [DOI]
- 9 Parasitic zoonoses associated with dogs and cats: a survey of Portuguese pet owners’ awareness and deworming practices [DOI]
- 10 Cocirculation of Leptospira spp. and multiple orthohantaviruses in rodents, Lithuania, Northern Europe [DOI]
- 11 Pet Ownership and Knowledge of Zoonotic Diseases in De Kalb County, Georgia [DOI]
- 12 Parasitic zoonoses in Sri Lanka: an update [DOI]
- 13 Ecological aspects of some parasitic diseases in Sri Lanka [DOI]
- 14 The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [DOI]
- 15 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (A) [DOI]
Cited by 4
Kalpani. O. Bandaranayaka · Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases · 2025
C. Jayasinghe, W. D. Rathnasooriya, M. Abeykoon · OUSL Journal · 2025
Naheed Shah · Axis Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences · 2024
Showing 3 of 4 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- How Impostor Syndrome Affects Academic Performance and Leadership Virtues among Undergraduate Clinical Year Medical Students — shares topic coverage
- Evaluating Antibiotic Use, Misuse, and Resistance Awareness among University Students in Northern Cyprus: A Cross-sectional Study — shares topic coverage
- Relationship of ABO Blood Groups with Fasting Blood Sugar and Uric Acid among Students in Bayelsa State College of Health Technology Otuogidi-Ogbia — shares topic coverage
- Association of Demographic Variables with Senile Cataract: A Cross Sectional Study — shares topic coverage
- Cardiac Structural and Functional Alterations in End-stage Renal Disease : An Echocardiographic Study — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
57
Page views
0
PDF downloads
20
Outbound clicks
4
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.