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

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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 (63.8%). At the level of practices after exposure to rabies infection, the majority (65.2%) of the healthcare staff consulted the patients, of whom 84.4% and 95.6% of these consultants respectively carried out communication for social change and behavior and referred patients to the National Institute of Public Hygiene (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Some health workers did not have the necessary knowledge to care for people exposed to rabies infection. Thus, they were not all involved in post-exposure prophylaxis against rabies. It would therefore be desirable for the National Institute of Public Hygiene to strengthen the capacities for the prevention of rabies for all human health workers, particularly those in first contact health establishments with a view to eliminating this disease from here in 2030.

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