Original Research
Knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices toward rodent-borne diseases in Ngorongoro district, Tanzania
Submitted: 03 April 2024 | Published: 21 June 2023
About the author(s)
Amina Issae, African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro; Department of Wildlife Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro; Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, United Republic ofAugustino Chengula, Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Biotechnology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, United Republic of
Rose Kicheleri, Department of Wildlife Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, United Republic of
Christopher Kasanga, Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Biotechnology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, United Republic of
Abdul Katakweba, African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro; Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania, United Republic of
Abstract
In addition to their economic significance, rodents are hosts and transmit diseases. Most of rodent-borne diseases are endemic in rural Africa and sporadically lead to epidemics. Ngorongoro district is inhabited by humans, livestock, and wild animals. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward rodent-borne diseases among communities. The study used 3 focus groups, 20 key informant interviews, and the questionnaire (N=352) to collect data. The study found that 8.52% of respondents had good knowledge, 35.5% had a positive attitude and 94.3% had good practices toward rodent-borne diseases. The study revealed that only 28.13% of participants were aware of rodent-borne zoonoses. The majority of them (77.27%) believe that rodents are pests that destroy crops and do not transmit pathogens. Moreover, the results showed that the majority of them (82.9%) live in dilapidated huts that serve as rodent breeding places. Additionally, except for education and religion, the level of knowledge had no significant relationship with most of the participants’ demographic variables. When compared to individuals who didn’t attend school, those with secondary education (OR=7.96, CI=1.4-45.31, P=0.017) had greater knowledge of rodent-borne diseases and management. Similarly, to how attitude and practice were found to be considerably (r=0.3216, P=0.000) positively correlated, general knowledge and general practice scores were found to be significantly (r=0.1608, P=0.002) positively correlated. Despite showing good practices, the communities still lack knowledge of rodent-borne zoonosis. Rodent-borne disease education should be considered in Ngorongoro and other places.
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