Abstract
Lassa fever (LF) is an acute, viral hemorrhagic illness which is common in West Africa. Students of tertiary institutions are also exposed to risk factors. Hence, the study aimed to assess the knowledge and risk factors for Lassa fever amongst students of the Federal Polytechnic Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 240 undergraduate students of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, between August and October, 2019. The participants included 240 respondents with mean age of 22.77±5.30 years, 147 (61.37%) females and 149 (62.1%) between 20-25 years. Most of the respondents 103(42.9%) were in their second year. Also, majority, 194 (80.8%) of them were aware of Lassa fever, but only 58 (29.6%) of them had knowledge of the disease. One hundred and thirty (67%) of them had high self-reported risk factors for LF. The most common risk factors for LF included: Poor hand-washing culture 176 (90.8%), inadequately covered food 175 (90.4%), lack of mouse proofs in places of residence 158 (81.3%) and bush burning 65 (33.8%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the age of respondents (p<0.001) and the knowledge of Lassa fever. From the study, more than four-fifth of the respondents were aware of LF, but only a third of them had knowledge of the disease. Thus, it can be seen that the common risk factors mentioned by the respondents cannot simply be glossed over. The State government and school authority should provide more risk communication messages through health workers and indigenous media. Key words: Lassa fever, risk factors, knowledge, polytechnic, Auchi.
Highlights
Lassa fever (LF) is an acute, viral hemorrhagic illness caused by a single stranded RNA virus of the family arenaviridae.It was first identified in Lassa town of Borno
The knowledge gap demonstrated in this study may have resulted from the varied background of the students of this institution; with the respondents coming from various regions across the country
Those, with poor knowledge on LF may have come from non-endemic communities in Nigeria
Summary
Lassa fever (LF) is an acute, viral hemorrhagic illness caused by a single stranded RNA virus of the family arenaviridae.It was first identified in Lassa town of BornoState, North-East, Nigeria in 1969 (Buchmeier, 2007; Olise, 2016). An estimated 300,000 to 500,000 infections of Lassa fever occur annually, with approximately 5000 deaths in Nigeria and other endemic countries in West Africa (Usuwa et al, 2020). Recent data from Nigeria reveal that there were 1061 confirmed cases and 222 deaths between January to August 2020 (Nigeria Center for Disease Control, 2020). This was reported from 27 states and 129 LGAs across Nigeria, which included Edo, Ondo, Gombe, Taraba, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Anambra, Yobe, Rivers and Plateau States (Rine and Gyar, 2016; Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, 2020). The incidence of Lassa fever is usually highest during the dry season with outbreaks occurring during the period, but recent studies reveal an all-year-round occurrence; especially in sub-Saharan Africa (WHO, 2018)
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