Journal
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Volume 7, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed7080167
Keywords
attitude; knowledge; Malawi; practice; predictors; Rift Valley fever
Categories
Funding
- African Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease of Humans and Animals (ACEIDHA) - World Bank [P151847]
- Malawi Government
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Livestock farmers in Malawi have poor knowledge, negative attitude, and poor management practices towards RVF. Only a small percentage of participants have sufficient knowledge. The study recommends community sensitization and reporting of suspected cases for better management of RVF.
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis whose cases go unreported in endemic areas without active surveillance. Information on the knowledge, attitude, and practice of RVF among livestock farmers remains speculative in Malawi. A cross-section survey using a semi-structured questionnaire (n = 400) was conducted in eight districts of Malawi to capture information on knowledge, attitude, and management practices (KAP) regarding RVF. The average KAP score was calculated from total scores for knowledge, attitude, and practices and then assessed. The association between the level of knowledge and factors of knowledge, factors of attitude, and factors of practices was determined using Pearson chi-square. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the predictors of knowledge. Participants had an overall poor knowledge (score = 17.94%), negative attitude (score = 9.40%), and poor management practices (score = 41.23%) towards RVF. Only 8.25% (33/400) of participants had sufficient knowledge of RVF. The study found that the cause of abortion (OR: 3.86 (95% CI: 1.14-13.05)) (p = 0.030) and knowledge on transmission of RVFV (OR: 5.65 (95% CI: 1.76-18.12)) (p = 0.004) were predictors of insufficient knowledge of RVF. The current study reported that participants had insufficient knowledge and a negative attitude despite displaying limited management practices towards RVF. Therefore, this study recommends community sensitization to RVF and advocates for the importance of reporting suspected cases to relevant authorities for proper management.
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