Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
World Health Organization, Ondo State Field Office, Akure, Nigeria.
Pan Afr Med J. 2022 Dec 5;43:176. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2022.43.176.32315. eCollection 2022.
continued transmission of Lassa fever has been recorded in 6 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Ondo State in Southwest, Nigeria annually with high case fatality rates. Genomic analysis of the Lassa virus has indicated ongoing transmission from local rodents´ population to humans despite several public health interventions during the outbreak including risk communication on preventive practices against the disease. We assessed adherence to preventive practices by household against the spread of Lassa fever in these affected LGAs.
a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among community members in the six affected Local Government Area (LGAs). A semi structured questionnaire was administered to 2992 consenting respondents to assess their reported preventive practice against Lassa fever while their observed practices was assessed using observation checklist. Data analysis was done using frequency, proportions, Chi-Square test and logistic regression of predictors of outcome variable with statistical significance set at p<0.05.
a higher proportion of the respondents were females (51.2%) compared to males (48.8%) with mean age of 43.04±13.97 years. Majority of the respondents (88.2%) were married with at least secondary education (76.7%). Majority of the respondents (80.2%) reported washing their hands with soap and water regularly, 84.6% washed their utensils before and after use likewise. However, 10.6% of the respondents reported not storing their food items in lid-covered containers while 61.9% practiced open air drying of food items by the roadside. Also, 34.3% of the respondents were observed to spread food items outside their home in the open air. Overall, 32.6% of the respondent were observed to have poor preventive practices against Lassa fever with their level of education as a significant determinant.
the poor preventive practices observed among the respondents in this study could sustain the transmission of the virus hence there is also the need to further intensify enforcement of public health control measures for Lassa fever through existing community structures and institutions to stop the current and prevent future Lassa fever and other related outbreaks in the State.
拉沙热在尼日利亚西南部翁多州的 6 个地方政府区域（LGAs）每年都有持续传播，病死率很高。拉沙病毒的基因组分析表明，尽管在疫情爆发期间采取了包括针对该疾病的预防措施风险沟通在内的多项公共卫生干预措施，但当地啮齿动物种群向人类的传播仍在继续。我们评估了这些受影响的 LGAs 中家庭对拉沙热传播的预防措施的遵守情况。
在六个受影响的地方政府区域（LGAs）的社区成员中进行了一项描述性的横断面研究。向 2992 名同意的受访者发放了一份半结构式问卷，以评估他们报告的预防拉沙热的做法，同时使用观察清单评估他们的观察做法。使用频率、比例、卡方检验和逻辑回归分析预测结果变量的因素，统计学意义设定为 p<0.05。
与男性（48.8%）相比，女性（51.2%）的受访者比例更高，平均年龄为 43.04±13.97 岁。大多数受访者（88.2%）已婚，至少受过中等教育（76.7%）。大多数受访者（80.2%）经常用肥皂和水洗手，84.6%在使用前后清洗餐具。然而，有 10.6%的受访者报告说他们没有将食物存放在有盖容器中，而 61.9%的人则在路边露天晾干食物。此外，34.3%的受访者被观察到在户外露天将食物散布在自家外面。总体而言，32.6%的受访者被观察到在预防拉沙热方面的预防措施较差，其教育水平是一个重要的决定因素。
在这项研究中，受访者表现出的不良预防措施可能会维持病毒的传播，因此还需要通过现有的社区结构和机构进一步加强对拉沙热公共卫生控制措施的执行，以阻止该州当前和未来的拉沙热及其他相关疫情的发生。
