Perception of the zoonosis and responsible pet care by the parents from public schools kindergarten located at metropolitan region of Recife, northeast of Brazil

The goal of this research was to examine parents' perception of the zoonosis and responsible pet care, observing their level of knowledge and awareness about the theme. A convenience sample of 64 parents from two kindergarten schools located at Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco State, was surveyed using a perception questionnaire. Findings indicate that 71.8 % didn't know the meaning of the term zoonosis, but 16% recognize at least one type of the disease. Diseases transmitted from animals to humans were associated to the way of transmission, as physical contact between animal and man, bite wound disease, fecal contamination of water, food with cysts or eggs of nematodes, skin penetration of nematodes, and also the arthropod borne disease. The major pet health care reported was rabies vaccine (92.2%), anthelmintic therapy (76.6%), and pet care provide by a veterinarian (82.8%). However, 23.4% of the parents had some knowledge about the zoonotic infections transmitted by dogs and cats feces. The parent's awareness not only about the risks about the diseases transmitted from animals to humans but also the responsible pet care, constitute a important tool to reduce risk of zoonosis transmission.