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 infe...
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doaj-5bc8e6f7676e4367a5e85c91a65105382021-03-21T12:09:07ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342021-03-0121111210.1186/s12879-021-05965-4Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern YemenTalal H. Alharazi0Najoua Haouas1Hesham M. Al-Mekhlafi2Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of HailDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of HailMedical Research Centre, Jazan UniversityAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-05965-4Cutaneous leishmaniasisNeglected tropical diseasesInfectious diseasesKnowledgeAttitudeYemen |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Talal H. Alharazi Najoua Haouas Hesham M. Al-Mekhlafi |
spellingShingle |
Talal H. Alharazi Najoua Haouas Hesham M. Al-Mekhlafi Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen BMC Infectious Diseases Cutaneous leishmaniasis Neglected tropical diseases Infectious diseases Knowledge Attitude Yemen |
author_facet |
Talal H. Alharazi Najoua Haouas Hesham M. Al-Mekhlafi |
author_sort |
Talal H. Alharazi |
title |
Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen |
title_short |
Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen |
title_full |
Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen |
title_fullStr |
Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen |
title_full_unstemmed |
Knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in Shara’b district, Taiz, southwestern Yemen |
title_sort |
knowledge and attitude towards cutaneous leishmaniasis among rural endemic communities in shara’b district, taiz, southwestern yemen |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Infectious Diseases |
issn |
1471-2334 |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
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. |
topic |
Cutaneous leishmaniasis Neglected tropical diseases Infectious diseases Knowledge Attitude Yemen |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-05965-4 |
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