Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen

Abstract

Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a neglected tropical disease, represents a significant public health problem in many endemic countries including Yemen. The ongoing armed conflict that started in March 2015 has had a negative impact on the entire healthcare system as well as on infectious disease control programmes. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess knowledge and attitude towards CL among rural endemic communities in southwestern Yemen. Methods Five hundred households in five areas of Shara’b district of Taiz governorate were randomly selected to participate in a quantitative survey. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, their knowledge and attitude towards CL and their knowledge on the sand fly vector. Results The analysis was conducted on a final sample of 466 individuals (62.7% males and 37.3% females) aged between 18 and 70 years. Among the participants, 21.5% were non-educated while 39.7 and 20.8% had completed secondary school and tertiary education, respectively. Although the participants were aware of CL, about three quarters (77.7%) of them had poor overall knowledge about disease transmission, clinical presentation, treatment, and prevention. Interestingly, approximately half of the participants (49.1%) were able to differentiate sand flies from other flies and mosquitoes. However, only 14.8% of the participants knew about the role of the phlebotomine sand fly in the transmission of CL. Only 36.6% believed that CL can be prevented and 49.6% had a negative attitude towards the disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that age and gender were the significant determinants of knowledge about CL and the sand fly vector among the studied population. Conclusion A poor level of knowledge about the different epidemiological aspects of CL was found among rural CL-endemic communities in Taiz. This factor, together with the major collapse of the healthcare infrastructure due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, may be contributing to the continued endemicity of CL in the governorate. It is therefore recommended that health education on CL transmission and prevention should be provided to the targeted communities.

Determinants of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis by case-control study in Morocco

“…Similarly, our study shows no significant association between education level and ACL, while a low level of education is associated with the presence of ACL in other studies [37]. In the same way, we noted no significant association between ACL and the knowledge about the disease, as found by Alhrazi et al, [59]. This result may be attributed to the general lack of awareness and education about ACL disease in the local context.…”

Knowledge, attitude and practices towards visceral leishmaniasis among HIV patients: A cross-sectional study from Bihar, India

“…The multivariable model found that occupation and VL family history were important determinants of good VL knowledge. However, only age and gender were reported as independent predictors of knowledge towards CL from Yemen [ 27 ]. Occupation of the participants showed a significant positive influence on the knowledge index.…”

Application of BASNEF model in students training regarding cutaneous leishmaniasis prevention behaviors: a school-based quasi experimental study

“…CL, which is considered a neglected disease, is becoming more prevalent worldwide [ 1 ]. The disease is endemic in more than 98 countries [ 2 ], and 12 million people are infected with the disease worldwide, 350 million people are at risk [ 3 – 7 ], and every year, 1.5 million new cases of CL [ 5 , 8 ] and 20,000 to 40,000 deaths due to this disease occur. [ 9 , 10 ].…”

“…The results of some studies suggest that instead of authentic resources, people obtain their information from family members, neighbors, and friends who are likely to convey incomplete information and misconceptions to people in society. [ 3 , 23 ].…”