Knowledge regarding Zika disease among healthcare professionals of tricity: A cross-sectional questionnaire study

Introduction: Zika virus is prompting worldwide concern because of an alarming connection to a neurological birth disorder and the rapid spread of the virus across the globe. Health care professionals who come in contact with patients should be aware of this disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of Healthcare professionals towards Zika Virus in Tricity, India. Materials and Method: A total of 510 healthcare practitioners were randomly approached to participate in this cross-sectional survey. A self-structured, closed ended questionnaire was administered to each participant to record demographic and professional characteristics followed by their knowledge regarding Zika virus. Multivariable linear regression analysis was carried out to assess the association of participant's demographic and professional characteristics with the knowledge scores. Result: The mean knowledge score of the respondents was 12.57 ± 0.42. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that age, location, profession and years of clinical practice had a significant impact on knowledge score. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals from urban areas, medical profession and with higher clinical practice had better knowledge yet there were notable deficiencies regarding the virus characteristics, diagnostics, elimination and treatment.