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A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices

BACKGROUND: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease affecting the skin, tissues and in some cases the bones, caused by the environmental pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans (M. ulcerans). Its mode of transmission is still elusive. Delayed treatment may cause irreversible disabilities with cons...

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Autores principales: Akoachere, Jane-Francis K. T., Nsai, Frankline S., Ndip, Roland N.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4881961/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27227429
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156463
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author Akoachere, Jane-Francis K. T.
Nsai, Frankline S.
Ndip, Roland N.
author_facet Akoachere, Jane-Francis K. T.
Nsai, Frankline S.
Ndip, Roland N.
author_sort Akoachere, Jane-Francis K. T.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease affecting the skin, tissues and in some cases the bones, caused by the environmental pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans (M. ulcerans). Its mode of transmission is still elusive. Delayed treatment may cause irreversible disabilities with consequent social and economic impacts on the victim. Socio-cultural beliefs, practices and attitudes in endemic communities have been shown to influence timely treatment causing disease management, prevention and control a great challenge. An assessment of these factors in endemic localities is important in designing successful intervention strategies. Considering this, we assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding BU in three endemic localities in the South West region, Cameroon to highlight existing misconceptions that need to be addressed to enhance prompt treatment and facilitate effective prevention and control. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A cross-sectional study was executed in three BU endemic health districts. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches we surveyed 320 randomly selected household heads, interviewed BU patients and conducted three focus group discussions (FGDs) to obtain information on awareness, beliefs, treatment, and attitudes towards victims. The influence of socio-demographic factors on these variables was investigated. RESULTS: Respondents (84.4%) had a good knowledge of BU though only 65% considered it a health problem while 49.4% believed it is contagious. Socio-demographic factors significantly (P<0.05) influenced awareness of BU, knowledge and practice on treatment and attitudes towards victims. Although the majority of respondents stated the hospital as the place for appropriate treatment, FGDs and some BU victims preferred witchdoctors/herbalists and prayers, and considered the hospital as the last option. We documented beliefs about the disease which could delay treatment. CONCLUSION: Though we are reporting a high level of knowledge of BU, there exist fallacies about BU and negative attitudes towards victims in communities studied. Efforts towards disease eradication must first of all target these misconceptions.
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spelling pubmed-48819612016-06-10 A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Akoachere, Jane-Francis K. T. Nsai, Frankline S. Ndip, Roland N. PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease affecting the skin, tissues and in some cases the bones, caused by the environmental pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans (M. ulcerans). Its mode of transmission is still elusive. Delayed treatment may cause irreversible disabilities with consequent social and economic impacts on the victim. Socio-cultural beliefs, practices and attitudes in endemic communities have been shown to influence timely treatment causing disease management, prevention and control a great challenge. An assessment of these factors in endemic localities is important in designing successful intervention strategies. Considering this, we assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding BU in three endemic localities in the South West region, Cameroon to highlight existing misconceptions that need to be addressed to enhance prompt treatment and facilitate effective prevention and control. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A cross-sectional study was executed in three BU endemic health districts. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches we surveyed 320 randomly selected household heads, interviewed BU patients and conducted three focus group discussions (FGDs) to obtain information on awareness, beliefs, treatment, and attitudes towards victims. The influence of socio-demographic factors on these variables was investigated. RESULTS: Respondents (84.4%) had a good knowledge of BU though only 65% considered it a health problem while 49.4% believed it is contagious. Socio-demographic factors significantly (P<0.05) influenced awareness of BU, knowledge and practice on treatment and attitudes towards victims. Although the majority of respondents stated the hospital as the place for appropriate treatment, FGDs and some BU victims preferred witchdoctors/herbalists and prayers, and considered the hospital as the last option. We documented beliefs about the disease which could delay treatment. CONCLUSION: Though we are reporting a high level of knowledge of BU, there exist fallacies about BU and negative attitudes towards victims in communities studied. Efforts towards disease eradication must first of all target these misconceptions. Public Library of Science 2016-05-26 /pmc/articles/PMC4881961/ /pubmed/27227429 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156463 Text en © 2016 Akoachere et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Akoachere, Jane-Francis K. T.
Nsai, Frankline S.
Ndip, Roland N.
A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
title A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
title_full A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
title_fullStr A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
title_full_unstemmed A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
title_short A Community Based Study on the Mode of Transmission, Prevention and Treatment of Buruli Ulcers in Southwest Cameroon: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
title_sort community based study on the mode of transmission, prevention and treatment of buruli ulcers in southwest cameroon: knowledge, attitude and practices
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4881961/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27227429
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156463
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