title: Knowledge and practices among the general practitioners of Karachi regarding dog bite management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find out the knowledge and practices among the general practitioners (GPs) of Karachi regarding dog bite management.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross sectional study was carried out in private and public Qlinics of Karachi using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. The study population was composed of 151 GPs with MBBS degree. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 12.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of total 151 general practitioners, 124 were male and 27/female doctors. The majority (77.5%) of GPs knew the cause of rabies, but only 51.7% knew about the incubation period. Only 19.4% GPs had appropriate knowledge about the first line treatment. Almost all GPs (98%) had no knowledge about the types of anti-rabies vaccine and only 19.2% knew about anti-rabies serum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an apparent lack of awareness among GPs regarding appropriate animal wound management and vaccine administration. Reorientation programmes and continued medical education (CME) for GPs are required to highlight WHO guidelines regarding treatment of animal bite.
authors.affiliation: Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Hamdard University, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Faraz Ul Hassan
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Munazza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jawed
authors.forename: Shanila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nooruddin
authors.forename: Sumaira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sajid
authors.forename: Sana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majeed
authors.forename: Munazza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naveed
authors.forename: Kamal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mustafa
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azhar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004285:Dogs; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan