Knowledge about MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) among Doctors in Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi

Abstract

Background: MERS is one of the newly emerging infectious diseases. Since it is confined mostly to the Arabian Peninsula, all those returning from this region are likely to bring this infection. Hence, with the huge number of Hajj/Umrah pilgrims returning each year from Saudi Arabia, health care workers should be well aware of the various aspects of this disease. Objective: To measure the level of awareness of doctors about Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Infection. Study Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the medical and pediatric units of Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from 24 August to 5 September, 2014. Materials and Methods: Study population consisted of qualified and registered medical practitioners. Demographic details about the respondents of the study were collected. Awareness about MERS infection was assessed by a questionnaire. Responses were classified as correct/ incorrect, enumerated and converted into percentages. Results: Eighty five percent of the respondents knew about the causative organism. Most of the doctors were aware of the signs and symptoms (75%), mode of spread (51%) and the treatments available (51%). However, most of them lacked knowledge about preventive methods (72%) and diagnostic techniques (59%). Conclusion: Awareness about MERS among doctors working in medical and pediatric Units of Holy Family Hospital is quite high but knowledge regarding preventive measures is suboptimal.

Keywords

• doctors, mers (middle eastern respiratory syndrome), mode of transmission, pakistan, reservoir.