People's attitude on zoonotic diseases in connection with COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The concept of animal-human transmission has become much more important during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research we Were interested in the average people's knowledge of zoonotic diseases and that how and what do they think about the involvement of animals in an epidemic;situation. The questionnaire was a continuous survey with qualitative single and multiple Choice e'r'uestiens, and with questions requiring a short text response. It started with a section on personal data, followed by questions on awareness of different zoonotic diseases and then questions on the Covid-19 epidemic. The survey was conducted Online and anonymously. In addition to elementary statistical methods, we calculated the Yule index using a two-dimensional contingency table. and the Cramer coefficient using the Chi-square method and made conclusions based on these. We received a total of 846 valuable responses, As expected, the topic seemed to be interesting mainly to animal owners, yet 15.2% of non-pet owners also completed it;The answers revealed that people's awareness of various diseases is extremely divided, and 82% of the respondents do not know the exact meaning of 20.0- n'osi's. Besides the well-known rabies and dog parvovirus, we asked questions about diseases that are less obvious (e.g., toxoplasmosis) and less known (e.g., strangles). Our research also revealed that there is strong correlation between the responses and whether the particular disease has been featured in the media in the recent years. Since there were countless news about COVlD-19 saying that it is also spread by animals, we wanted to see how people think about their pets in a similar situation. 275% assumed that the pandemic had affected their lives and their relationship with their pets. We asked how this would change if we were weighed down by an epidemic that is proven to be zoonotic. Only 1% said, they would abandon their animals if that happens. The responsibility of veterinarians in an epidemic;situation involving animals should be emphasised as a reliable source of information for pet owners.