Public Awareness of zoonotic Diseases and Public Health Implications in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study was conducted with the objective of assessing the level of awareness on zoonotic diseases among residents of Makurdi Metropolis. Questionnaire was structured into 3 sections namely, socio-demographic characteristics of residents, awareness on domestic animals, and wild animals transmission of zoonotic diseases. Simple and systematic random sampling was used to select sample locations in which a total of 250 questionnaires were administered; descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test and chi-squareanalysis were used to analyzed data. Field result showed that 144 respondents male were interviewed while 106 respondents were female. Residents of Makurdi Metropolis were quite aware of zoonotic diseases in both domestic and wild animals. The commonest domestic animal zoonotic diseases known to residents were: the mad dog disease, bird flu and swine flu. While the commonest wild animal zoonotic diseases known to residents were: monkey pox disease, Eboladisease, and Lassafever, the awareness of residents on these zoonotic diseases could be associated with the recent outbreak of these diseases and in the area. It was therefore recommended that more awareness campaigns on other types of zoonotic diseases and their preventive measures should be given to residents of Makurdi metropolis to forestall future public health hazards.