A study to assess the awareness of risk factors of cystic echinococcosis in Turkey

Objectives: To determine the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and awareness for risk factors associated with cystic echinococcosis (CE) among animal breeders, nurses, nursing students, dietitians, food professionals and other public groups in Turkey. Methods: Questionnaire forms were prepared in compliance with the individuals' diversity, and a survey was created about agents, transmission modes, epidemiology, treatment, and risk factors for CE. The descriptive survey was performed between May 2015 and May 2016 by face-to-face communication. Data were collected from a total of 647 individuals, including 95 animal breeders, 92 nurses, 249 nursing students, 49 dietitians, 28 food professionals and 134 people from other public groups from Turkey. Survey data were evaluated in terms of percentages and means and analyzed by the Pearson's chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test to determine the relationships between questionnaire answers and socio-demographic attributes, such as age, gender, educational level, and profession. Non-categorical variables were compared via Spearman's rho correlation analysis with statistical significance set at the 0.05 level. Results: We determined low awareness for vegetable washing, raw vegetables and offal consumption, informative courses, contact with dogs, and administration of antiparasitic drugs to dogs. Conclusion: The participants of this survey were found to be with insufficient knowledge regarding risk factors of CE. We advocate the implementation of training programs to improve public awareness on this important disease.