Knowledge of the Population about Visceral Leishmaniasis Transmission in Endemic Areas near the Banks of the Mossoró River in Northeastern Brazil

Camila Fernandes De Amorim, Sthenia Santos Albano Amóra, Thaís Aparecida Kazimoto, Kalídia Felipe De Lima Costa, Luanna Fernandes Silva, Maressa Laíse Reginaldo De Sousa, Yannara Barbosa Nogueira Freitas, Nilza Dutra Alves and Francisco Marlon Carneiro Feijó
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Camila Fernandes De Amorim: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Sthenia Santos Albano Amóra: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Thaís Aparecida Kazimoto: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Kalídia Felipe De Lima Costa: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Luanna Fernandes Silva: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Maressa Laíse Reginaldo De Sousa: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Yannara Barbosa Nogueira Freitas: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Nilza Dutra Alves: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Francisco Marlon Carneiro Feijó: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente, Tecnologia e Sociedade—Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Rua José Acrísio, 37, Abolição 1, 59619-250 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an anthropozoonosis with high prevalence and incidence in the Northeastern region of Brazil. This study aimed to determine whether people living near the Mossoró River in the city of Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, have knowledge of VL and to characterize the environmental properties of this region. Questionnaires were administered to 478 residents in three neighborhoods near the Mossoró River, addressing the population’s knowledge about VL and environmental characteristics. Most survey participants were female, with ages between 18 and 40 years, 53.8% had completed primary education, and 61.5% owned pet dogs ( p < 0.05). The majority (95.9%) showed little knowledge about the characteristics inherent to sandflies, and 85.3% were unaware of the environments preferred by this vector ( p < 0.05). Sewage from the homes of respondents was mainly dumped into the river (44.6%), and 76.6% of the respondents complained about the accumulation of garbage in the streets ( p < 0.05). The association between education and knowledge about the transmission of VL and preferred vector locations was statistically significant ( p < 0.05). The lack of knowledge in the population about VL and the residential environment indicates a risk of maintaining sand fly habitats and hence disease transmission.

Keywords: kala-azar; longipalpis; environmental factors; population knowledge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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