Knowledge, attitudes and practices of animal health professionals towards ticks and tick-borne diseases in Arizona

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a major tick-borne disease in Arizona. It is transmitted by the brown dog tick, Rhipichepalus sanguineus. The brown dog tick primarily feeds on domesticated dogs and during previous RMSF outbreaks in Arizona, nearly all cases occurred within communities with large numbers of free-roaming dogs. Animal health professionals are central to disease awareness and prevention because they can inform pet owners about health risks related to tick-borne diseases. Although RMSF outbreaks began occurring in Arizona nearly 20 years ago, there is little information known about the ways animal health professionals are handling ticks and TBDs throughout the state. We conducted a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey about ticks and tick-borne diseases with staff working at animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and animal control agencies across the state of Arizona. The project aimed to identify knowledge gaps by county and across clinic type and determine what factors contribute to knowledge, attitude and practice scores. The overarching goal of this study was to generate data that can be used to create initiatives that will improve RMSF surveillance and knowledge and reduce disease burden.