The knowledge, attitude, and practices concerning COVID-19 among veterinarians was assessed with a view to detecting variables that may hinder their effective contributions towards the management and control of COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria. A unicentric cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out between April 25th and May 4th 2020. A structured questionnaire was designed and ran using the Kobo Toolbox® application. The questionnaire was deployed through a web link and pretested on 10 individuals in and around Plateau State, Nigeria.
The study found that male veterinarians had significantly good knowledge (p=0.012, OR=0.157, CI=0.03-0.66) and attitude (OR=18.415, CI=1.45-5.16, P=0.011) towards COVID-19 than female counterparts. Similar results were also recorded regarding practices (OR=2.941, CI=1.03-8.36, P=0.043). Educational qualification was found to be significantly associated with attitude of veterinarians in respect of COVID-19 prevention (OR=0.473, CI=0.073-0.011, P=0.006). Thus, gender (male) was found to be independent predictors of good knowledge, attitude and practices regarding COVID-19. In addition, educational qualification was also found to be an independent predictor of attitude of veterinarians regarding COVID-19 control. Veterinarians generally had good knowledge about the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COVID-19. However, despite their knowledge, the level of willingness of veterinarians to support national response activities was still poor.
This study therefore advocate for a collaborative efforts (one-health) between medics and vets in tackling future pandemics/infectious diseases like COVID-19. In addition, since most vet knows the basics of infectious diseases like COVID-19, they can be deployed for national response activities.
Key words: Veterinarians, COVID-19, Nigeria, knowledge, attitude, practices.
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