Knowledge Attitude and Practices Toward Lassa Fever Control and Prevention Among Residents of Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria

Olowookere, Samuel Anu; Adegbenro, Caleb A.; Idowu, Ajibola; Omisore, Akinlolu G.; Shabi, Olabode Muftau; Ikem, U. R.; Ekwere, G. A.; Oderinde, I. F.

doi:10.1177/0272684x17701261

Cited by 15 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This result is comparable to that obtained in Southwest, 10 South South, 16 and North Central Nigeria, 20 In other studies, lower proportions of respondents demonstrated good preventive practices. 18,22,26 From the results of this study, almost equal proportions of respondents had a good knowledge of Lassa fever and showed good preventive practices. This result is different from that of other studies where proportions that demonstrated good preventive practices were higher.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…This result is different from that of other studies where proportions that demonstrated good preventive practices were higher. 16,18,26 This may be an indication that there is a poor understanding of Lassa fever among the population. It has already been observed in Nigeria that there is a weak integration of culture and socio-behavioural prevention measures which could be effective for the prevention of Lassa fever.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Knowledge and preventive practices against Lassa fever among heads of households in Abakaliki metropolis, Southeast Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Ossai

Onwe

Okeagu

et al. 2020

Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Lassa fever is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the knowledge and preventive measures against Lassa fever among heads of households in Abakaliki metropolis, Southeast Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A four-stage sampling design was used to select 420 respondents from Abakaliki metropolis. A good knowledge of Lassa fever was determined by the proportion of respondents scoring ⩾50% in 15 variables. Good preventive practices against Lassa fever were determined by the proportion of respondents obtaining a score of ⩾50% in 12 variables. Results: The mean age of respondents was 34.1±9.4 years, and the majority (56.5%) were males. Major sources of information included television (66.4%) and radio (64.3%). A minority (11.0%) consume rats at present, while 86.7% knew that rats could transmit Lassa fever to humans. The majority (60.0%) had a good knowledge of Lassa fever, while 66.4% demonstrated good preventive practices. A predictor of good knowledge included being a consumer of rats, (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–4.9). Predictors of good preventive practices included being in a low socio-economic class (AOR=2.1; 95% CI 1.3–3.6) and having a good knowledge of Lassa fever (AOR=10.2; 95% CI: 6.2–10.6). Conclusions: The majority of respondents had a good knowledge of Lassa fever and demonstrated good preventive practices against it. A good knowledge of Lassa fever was associated with good preventive practices. There is need for a good understanding of Lassa fever among the population, as this will improve preventive practices. Health workers have an important role to play in disseminating information concerning Lassa fever.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and preventive practices against Lassa fever among heads of households in Abakaliki metropolis, Southeast Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Ossai

Onwe

Okeagu

et al. 2020

Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In this study, we found that half of the respondents demonstrated a poor knowledge of LF fever symptoms and risk factors. This poor knowledge is worrisome despite the [21]. The finding of a high awareness of LF in this study, is similar to community-based studies in Lafia by Reuben and Gyar [22], and in Irrua by Ochei et al [23] A low community awareness of LF in Owo, Ondo State has been reported by Ilesanmi et al [24] and in Oshogbo by Adebimpe et al [25] Respondents in Abakaliki LGA had a better knowledge of LF risk factors compared to its symptoms suggesting a gap in risk communication information dissemination in the state and the need for risk communication content in the state to contain more LF symptoms for early identification of suspected cases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and risk perception towards Lassa fever infection among residents of affected communities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: implications for risk communication

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Lassa fever (LF) is an epidemic-prone zoonotic disease prevalent in Nigeria and Ebonyi State is a high burden area in Nigeria. Low risk perceptions have been reported to prevent appropriate preventive behaviours. We investigated the knowledge and risk perception of residents towards LF and determined the factors influencing their risk perception in communities that have reported confirmed cases of LF. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the affected wards in Abakaliki Local Government Area (LGA). We interviewed 356 adult respondents recruited across 6 settlements in 3 of the affected wards through multistage sampling technique. Information on participants' knowledge of LF, their risk perception using the health belief model as well as factors influencing risk perception were obtained. We estimated the proportions of respondents with good knowledge and high risk perceptions. We also explored the relationship between risk perception, knowledge and sociodemographic characteristics using Chi Square and logistic regression at 5% level of significance. Results: The mean age of the participants was 33.3 ± 12.2 years, 208 (63.2%) were females, 230 (69.9%) were married and 104 (31.6%) had attained tertiary education. Though 99.1% were aware of LF infection, 50.3% among them had poor knowledge of LF symptoms and risk factors, 92.9% had high risk perception of severity, 72.4% had a high feeling of susceptibility towards LF infection, 82.5% had a high perceived self-efficacy towards LF infection, 63.5% had a low perceived benefit of LF preventive practices and 31.8% had high perceived barrier towards LF preventive practices. Good knowledge of LF was the only significant factor influencing risk perception; perceived severity: (COR: 3.0, 95%CI: 1.2-7.8), perceived susceptibility (AOR: 2.0, 95%CI: 1.25-3.3) and perceived benefit (COR: 2.1, 95%CI: 1.3-3.3). Conclusions: Good knowledge of LF influences risk perception towards LF which has great import on LF preventive practices. A gap exists in the content and acceptance of LF risk communication information in the LGA. There is a need to review the risk communication messages in the state towards LF in the community with special focus on the males and younger population.

show abstract

“…Rice is often the stable crop in endemic areas (particularly in western Africa), which is typically grown in fields or low-lying swamps that encourage rodent habitation (50). The challenges presented by the educational and communication infrastructure in endemic regions also prevent optimal disease control, with a recent survey finding that 76% of residents in a Nigerian urban town had inadequate knowledge of Lassa fever and 51% had poor control practices (51). Practices such as hunting rodents for food and for use in sacrificial ceremonies have also been documented to increase risks for infection (50).…”

Section: Disease Transmission and Social Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemorrhagic Fever-Causing Arenaviruses: Lethal Pathogens and Potent Immune Suppressors

Brisse

2019

Front. Immunol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hemorrhagic fevers (HF) resulting from pathogenic arenaviral infections have traditionally been neglected as tropical diseases primarily affecting African and South American regions. There are currently no FDA-approved vaccines for arenaviruses, and treatments have been limited to supportive therapy and use of non-specific nucleoside analogs, such as Ribavirin. Outbreaks of arenaviral infections have been limited to certain geographic areas that are endemic but known cases of exportation of arenaviruses from endemic regions and socioeconomic challenges for local control of rodent reservoirs raise serious concerns about the potential for larger outbreaks in the future. This review synthesizes current knowledge about arenaviral evolution, ecology, transmission patterns, life cycle, modulation of host immunity, disease pathogenesis, as well as discusses recent development of preventative and therapeutic pursuits against this group of deadly viral pathogens.

show abstract

Knowledge Attitude and Practices Toward Lassa Fever Control and Prevention Among Residents of Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

Knowledge and preventive practices against Lassa fever among heads of households in Abakaliki metropolis, Southeast Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Knowledge and preventive practices against Lassa fever among heads of households in Abakaliki metropolis, Southeast Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Knowledge and risk perception towards Lassa fever infection among residents of affected communities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: implications for risk communication

Hemorrhagic Fever-Causing Arenaviruses: Lethal Pathogens and Potent Immune Suppressors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About