Awareness of Zoonotic Diseases among the Bachelor of Science New Entrants at the Open University of Sri Lanka in 2020

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.