Background: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) belong to a group of febrile diseases classified as Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHF) caused by distinct families of RNA viruses. This study which was conducted in October 2021 in Kailahun district in Sierra Leone employed Focus Group Discussion (FGD) tools to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) of residents of Kailahun district towards the prevention, control and management of EVD and MVD, and to identify their knowledge gaps for both diseases.
Methods: Two hundred and eighty (male=140, female=140) mixed study participants with ages ranging between 18 years and above from four chiefdoms in Kailahun district were assessed for their KAP using tools developed from previous KAP studies on VHF that were conducted in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Twenty eight FGD sessions were conducted in this study; seven FGD sessions per chiefdom with each FGD session lasting for 45 minutes.
Results: Overall knowledge about EVD was good among the FGD respondents but lacking for MVD. Majority (99%) of the study participants said one can become infected with EVD by touching an EVD infected person.
Conclusion: We reported a high level of knowledge on EVD but low level for MVD by the study participants a consequence of the previous EVD outbreak in West Africa in 2013-2016.
Select your language of interest to view the total content in your interested language
Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research received 20588 citations as per google scholar report
The Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research is a bi-monthly multidisciplinary medical journal.