Community knowledge, attitude and practices towards dengue in urban and suburban populations of Okara (Punjab, Pakistan)

Abstract

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by biting female Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus

mosquitoes, which breed in small, ponded water. The present work aimed to analyse the

knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards dengue fever and its control in the local population

of the Okara district, Punjab, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey based on 2279 randomly

selected volunteers of both sexes (male 1149, female 1130) from 08 towns of the district Okara

(Pakistan), ages (15-70 years) from urban/suburban areas during 2016-17 through

questionnaire-based interviews. Educational attainment was moderate, with 57.3 % having 10

or fewer years of schooling in the study population. The results suggested that the general

public has a high level of knowledge, and 87.8% correctly identified the route of transmission.

85.7% recognized man-made containers as breeding sites. Females had higher knowledge

accuracy (81.35%) than males (79.6). Further, most respondents (84.9%) did not have leaky

water taps, 86.3% managed household junk, and 91.1% disposed of rainwater. Respondents

used strong preventive practices such as repellents (64.6%), checking water reservoirs

(83.6%), and drain coolers (85.6%). In conclusion, the masses in the area have a high level of

knowledge about dengue fever, its vector and its breeding. The majority of the respondents

have a positive attitude towards preventive measures against vector and mosquito bites. A very

large segment of the community generally has good practices related to dengue fever and its

vectors