Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the large West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak to be a community health disaster of global concern, and the spread of disease demands a synchronized response. Medical practitioners have an increased risk of contracting the disease as compared to others as they are directly exposed to patients’ blood or fluids. This study evaluated the knowledge of medical practitioners in Karachi regarding EVD. It was descriptive and exploratory in nature and took place over a period of 4 months, i.e., August 2016 to November 2016. The respondents were randomly selected by convenience sampling and surveyed with a 20-item questionnaire. Overall, 403 questionnaires were included in the study and a response rate of 80.6% was achieved. The majority (56.3%) considered themselves to be somewhat knowledgeable; females had more knowledge as compared to male (p < 0.003). More than 80% knew about the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Interestingly, the findings revealed that respondents’ knowledge about diagnosis and identification of EVD is good. Respondents considered EVD a severe disease and emphasized on the need for protective measures when contacting affected patients. Interventions should be tailored to focus on areas where respondents showed a lack of knowledge about the disease.
Highlights
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a potentially fatal disease caused by Ebola virus
The virus was first discovered in 1976 when two unrelated Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks occurred in northern Zaire (Yambuku) and southern Sudan [5]
Since 1976, there has been a total of 885,343 suspected and laboratory confirmed cases of EHF reported in West Africa, making this part of the world persistently exposed to the disease [6]
Summary
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a potentially fatal disease caused by Ebola virus. It results in viral hemorrhagic fever characterized by internal hemorrhage. It has high mortality rates, as it was observed to cause fatalities in 90% of the infected patients. EVD belongs to the family Filoviridae and the genus Ebolavirus, and has five recognized species, among which the first four can cause infections in humans, namely Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, Taï Forest ebolavirus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, and Reston ebolavirus [4]. The virus was first discovered in 1976 when two unrelated Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks occurred in northern Zaire (Yambuku) and southern Sudan [5]. Since 1976, there has been a total of 885,343 suspected and laboratory confirmed cases of EHF reported in West Africa, making this part of the world persistently exposed to the disease [6]
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