Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Onchocerciasis and Ivermectin Treatment in Idogun Community, Ondo State, Nigeria

Introduction: Onchocerciasis is a communicable parasitic disease caused by a nematode; Onchocerca volvulus and vectored by female Simulium blackfly. The disease is common among poor rural dwellers where it causes various degrees of skin and eye infections.

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and perception of onchocerciasis and its treatment with ivermectin

Methods: The study was undertaken in Idogun, an endemic community in Ose local government area, Ondo State. Structured questionnaire was administered to 384 respondents during personal interview and focus group discussion to obtain useful epidemiological information, while skin snip test was employed to determine the prevalence of the disease among the 384 respondents not below 10 years of age that were randomly selected for the study. Chi-square at 5% significance level was used to establish the significance of various parameters tested in the study.

Results: The results revealed that 235 (61.2%) were ignorant of the disease while 149 (38.8%) respondents had adequate knowledge of the cause and mode of transmission of the disease. Meanwhile, skin snip test showed that the disease occurred more among the ignorant (22.9%) than the knowledgeable (5.2%). Ignorance of disease was further reflected in the response of the respondents to the cause and mode of infection. Most ignorant individuals in the community believed the disease can be contracted through sexual intercourse (4.6%), stepping on charms (3.9%), inherited from infected parents (6.3%), ageing (13.3%), lack of personal hygiene (7%) and too much farming (40.4%). Whereas, 15.6% of the study population had no idea of the cause and mode of the disease. The study further revealed that 24.7% of the respondents showed various side effects to the drug such as itching, rashes swelling wrinkles, dizziness and weakness. The side effects of the drug were observed to be more among the infected individuals (20.8%) than the uninfected individuals (3.9%).

Conclusion: The study suggests that there is need for intensive public enlightment in the community to properly educate the community about the cause and mode of the disease.