Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of Dengue Fever in the Ru-ral Area of Central India

Background: Dengue Fever (DF) is an emergent disease in India. It is endemic in some parts of country and contributes annual outbreaks of dengue. Aims: To study the knowledge regarding dengue and the preventive measures practiced by the rural population attending a hospital. Setting: The Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha is the rural medical college located in Maharashtra. Study Design: The study design was a descriptive cross-sectional study concerning Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of DF prevention among the people in Rural Hospi-tal of Central India. Study population: The population in this study was residents of Wardha Districts, Maharashtra State, India, who were living there for at least one year. A 410 adults (aged 18 years and above) were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire regarding their knowledge, attitude and practices about DF. Results: 43.91 % respondents belonged to the age group of 30 – 44 years, 84.15 % respondents were married and 31.21 % respon-dents were high school certificate (31.21 %). 76.58 % respondent knew that the vector for dengue is a mosquito. Whereas 47.8 % respondents knew that human to human spread occurs in dengue and mainly transmitted by mosquito bites. Around 60.48 % of them were aware of fever as the presenting symptom. With regards to the knowledge of the preventive measures, respondents were generally aware of mosquito coils/liquid (57.08 %) and spraying (35.12 %). 74.14 % respondents knew about breeding places of mosquitoes. 94.64 % respondents strongly agreed and agreed that dengue is a serious illness. Only 17.06 % respondents strongly agreed and agreed that they are at risk of getting dengue whereas 62.92 % was not sure about the risk. Common preventive prac-tices that were prevalent in the respondents were use of mosquito coils/liquid (45.12 %); cleaning the house (28.30 %) and mosquito spray (23.42 %). Important sources of in-formation about DF were from television (59.75 %) followed by Friends/relatives (47.80 %). Conclusion: The DF remains a public health problem in this area and the people need more understanding of the disease. Our findings highlight the need for further informa-tion, education and communication programs. Preventive strategies are the only means of controlling the DF.