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The One Health approach to identify knowledge, attitudes and practices that affect community involvement in the control of Rift Valley fever outbreaks.

ABSTRACT: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral mosquito-borne disease with the potential for global expansion, causes hemorrhagic fever, and has a high case fatality rate in young animals and in humans. Using a cross-sectional community-based study design, we investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices of people living in small village in Sudan with respect to RVF outbreaks. A special One Health questionnaire was developed to compile data from 235 heads of household concerning their knowledge, attitudes, and practices with regard to controlling RVF. Although the 2007 RVF outbreak in Sudan had negatively affected the participants' food availability and livestock income, the participants did not fully understand how to identify RVF symptoms and risk factors for both humans and livestock. For example, the participants mistakenly believed that avoiding livestock that had suffered spontaneous abortions was the least important risk factor for RVF. Although the majority noticed an increase in mosquito population during the 2007 RVF outbreak, few used impregnated bed nets as preventive measures. The community was reluctant to notify the authorities about RVF suspicion in livestock, a sentinel for human RVF infection. Almost all the respondents stressed that they would not receive any compensation for their dead livestock if they notified the authorities. In addition, the participants believed that controlling RVF outbreaks was mainly the responsibility of human health authorities rather than veterinary authorities. The majority of the participants were aware that RVF could spread from one region to another within the country. Participants received most their information about RVF from social networks and the mass media, rather than the health system or veterinarians. Because the perceived role of the community in controlling RVF was fragmented, the probability of RVF spread increased.

SUBMITTER: Hassan OA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5332088 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The One Health approach to identify knowledge, attitudes and practices that affect community involvement in the control of Rift Valley fever outbreaks.

Hassan Osama Ahmed OA Affognon Hippolyte H Rocklöv Joacim J Mburu Peter P Sang Rosemary R Ahlm Clas C Evander Magnus M

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20170216 2

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral mosquito-borne disease with the potential for global expansion, causes hemorrhagic fever, and has a high case fatality rate in young animals and in humans. Using a cross-sectional community-based study design, we investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices of people living in small village in Sudan with respect to RVF outbreaks. A special One Health questionnaire was developed to compile data from 235 heads of household concerning their knowledge, attit ...[more]

PMID: 28207905

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Project description:Background:Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic viral vector-borne disease that affects both animals and humans and leads to severe economic consequences. RVF outbreaks are triggered by a favorable environment and flooding, which enable mosquitoes to proliferate and spread the virus further. RVF is endemic to Africa and has spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. There is great concern that RVF may spread to previously unaffected geographic regions due to climate change. We aimed to better understand the spatiotemporal pattern of the 2007 RVF outbreak at the human-animal-environment interface and to determine environmental factors that may have effects on RVF occurrence in Gezira state, Sudan. Materials and methods:We compiled epidemiological, environmental, and spatiotemporal data across time and space using remote sensing and a geographical information system (GIS). The epidemiological data included 430 RVF human cases as well as human and animal population demographic data for each locality. The cases were collected from 41 locations in Gezira state. The environmental data represent classified land cover during 2007, the year of the RVF outbreak, and the average of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for 6 months of 2007 is compared with those of 2010 and 2014, when there was no RVF outbreak. To determine the effect of the environmental factors such as NDVI, soil type, and RVF case's location on the Blue Nile riverbank on RVF incidence in Gezira state, a multilevel logistic regression model was carried out. Results:We found that the outbreak in Gezira state occurred as a result of interaction among animals, humans, and the environment. The multilevel logistic regression model (F?=?43,858, df?=?3, p?=?0.000) explained 23% of the variance in RVF incidence due to the explanatory variables. Notably, soil type (??=?0.613, t?=?11.284, p?=?0.000) and NDVI (??=?-?0.165, t?=?-?3.254, p?=?0.001) were the explanatory environmental factors that had significant effects on RVF incidence in 2007 in Gezira state, Sudan. Conclusions:Precise remote sensing and the GIS technique, which rely on environmental indices such as NDVI and soil type that are satellite-derived, can contribute to establishing an early warning system for RVF in Sudan.Future preparedness and strengthening the capacity of regional laboratories are necessary for early notification of outbreaks in animals and humans.

Dataset Information

The One Health approach to identify knowledge, attitudes and practices that affect community involvement in the control of Rift Valley fever outbreaks.

Publications

The One Health approach to identify knowledge, attitudes and practices that affect community involvement in the control of Rift Valley fever outbreaks.

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