Abstract Contact with animals in public settings can provide education and entertainment opportunities for both adults and children. However, outbreaks have been associated with human-animal interactions at state, region or county fairs, petting zoos, educational farms, etc. Those outbreaks not only raised a public health concern, but also had substantial medical, legal, and economic impacts. In this study, we assessed the risk awareness of enteric pathogens associated with animal contact in public settings. Participants were asked whether they recognize the risk of spreading enteric pathogens through specific animal contact behaviors such as petting animals with hands or eating around farm animals. The results showed that the self-reported risk awareness was 4.0 ± 1.2 out of a total score of 6, which indicated a poor risk awareness. We also assessed the hand hygiene behaviors including hand washing and hand sanitizer application. Most participants (n = 177, 78.0%) reported that they wash their hands immediately after contact with animals. Logistic regression results showed that risk awareness associated with animal contact was a reliable predictor of hand washing behaviors. Findings from this study serve as a needs assessment for future education to reduce risk of spreading enteric pathogens during animal contact in public settings.

中文翻译：

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公共环境中的动物接触——肠道病原体的风险意识和手部卫生行为

摘要 在公共场合与动物接触可以为成人和儿童提供教育和娱乐机会。然而，爆发与州、地区或县集市、宠物动物园、教育农场等的人与动物互动有关。这些爆发不仅引起了公共卫生问题，而且还产生了重大的医疗、法律和经济影响。在这项研究中，我们评估了与公共环境中动物接触相关的肠道病原体的风险意识。参与者被问及他们是否认识到通过特定的动物接触行为（例如用手抚摸动物或在农场动物周围进食）传播肠道病原体的风险。结果表明，自我报告的风险意识为4.0±1.2，总分6分，表明风险意识较差。我们还评估了手卫生行为，包括洗手和使用洗手液。大多数参与者（n = 177, 78.0%）报告说他们在接触动物后立即洗手。Logistic 回归结果表明，与动物接触相关的风险意识是洗手行为的可靠预测指标。这项研究的结果可作为未来教育的需求评估，以降低在公共环境中接触动物期间传播肠道病原体的风险。