Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards lymphatic filariasis among inhabitants of an endemic town in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionThe burden of lymphatic Filariasis (LF) popularly called Ina orun in southwest Nigeria is of serious concern and it calls for urgent attention. The study aimed at assessing the knowledge attitude and practice of inhabitants of two communities endemic with LF in Ibadan south-west Local Government Area (IBSWLGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire.ResultsOut of 243 participants comprising of both male and female with a mean age of 35.01± 8.53 years, 35% reported ever hearing about LF. The majority (73.3%) of the participants had an overall poor knowledge of the disease, while only 26.7% have good knowledge of the disease. 26.3% of the participants knew the main cause of LF while 74.9% did not know the disease is communicable. About half (50.6%) and 42.4% of the participants did not know the symptoms and the prevention practices respectively. Only 27.2% knew that mosquitoes play a major role in LF transmission. 85.6% of the respondents were not aware of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) program in the study area while 36.6% of participants did not know the role of MDA in preventing and controlling LF.ConclusionThese results indicate poor community knowledge, inadequate prevention practices, and a lack of awareness of available programmatic efforts that the population can benefit from to tackle continuous transmission of the lymphatic filariasis disease. In conclusion, with the present low status on the disease awareness and response, increased sensitization and community interventions on LF are necessary and this calls for urgent attention.