PUBLIC AWARENESS TOWARD TUBERCULOSIS AMONG SAUDI POPULATION, SAUDI ARABIA

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common infectious disease and cause of death worldwide. Nowadays, there is available vaccine to prevent the disease but still the developing countries are fighting this fetal disease, even though the percentage of TB has been decreased by vaccination. In Saudi Arabia, the incidence of TB is decreased dramatically which reach 12/100,000 population. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards TB among general populations in Saudi Arabia. Method: This is a cross-sectional study with self-administered questionnaire distributed randomly among general population in Saudi Arabia in the period from January to February 2019. The sample size is 350 participants and the result will be entered and analyzed by SPSS. Result: 350 participants filled the questionnaire. Most of participants answered the surveys correctly. Results show good level of awareness among participants. 180 (51.4%) of the participants mentioned that Bacteria is the main cause of TB. The vast majority of the participants don’t know the mode of TB transmission 217 (62%). 210 (60%) participants believe that TB is very serious disease. Conclusion: Participants shows an acceptable level of knowledge among the general population. But, there are some misconception regarding the cause and prevention of TB disease. Keywords: tuberculosis, TB, Awareness, Saudi Arabia