Knowledge, attitude and practices related to cutaneous leishmaniasis in endemic communities in the Volta Region of Ghana

Abstract

The Ho Municipality of the Volta Region is one of the most endemic areas for the neglected tropical disease (NTD), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), in Ghana. The knowledge on the perception of the disease by the inhabitants and its vector is essential to design effective prevention and management strategies. Such studies are limited in respect of CL in the Volta region of Ghana. This investigation was designed to administer a structured questionnaire to randomly selected individuals living in the endemic communities, based on previous reports on endemicity of cutaneous leishmaniasis, in the Ho Municipality; Klefe, Taviefe, Matse, Lume Atsyiame, Dodome Dogblome and Dodome Awuiasu. The results revealed that most (88.3%) of the respondents had a reasonable knowledge of the disease but not of the vector. Most of the respondents believed the disease is mainly cured with a particular type of herbs (Hyptis suaveolens (L) Poit) identified by the botanist. Others thought that the use of bed nets (9.0%), weeding and spraying (23.4%) could be helpful in preventing bites from the vectors. Poor knowledge of the vector in the study population emphasize the need to initiate health education and awareness campaigns to minimize the risks of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the future