Knowledge, Attitude and Perceptions on Schistosomiasis Disease Among Community Members in the Federal Capital Territory: A Case Study of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent a collection of infections that disproportionately impact low- income earners in the developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The Schistosomiasis continues to be a significant public health issue in Nigeria, which is the country with the greatest burden in the world today. According to the Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria, 2015), an estimated 24 million individuals are at risk of schistosomiasis, and the prevalence of this disease is 9.5, in general. Though there has been continuous control like Mass Administration of Medicines (MAM), awareness and public sensitization, the burden of schistosomiasis is still very high in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and the perception of the community-based on schistosomiasis in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), FCT, Nigeria. It was a cross-sectional study that used a semi- structured questionnaire on 400 male and female participants whose mean ages were 25.0 +8 years. In general, 66.5% of the respondents had heard about schistosomiasis, and 54.2% of the respondents had exhibited good knowledge about the disease. Nevertheless, only 28% were aware of its primary cause, 35.5% of knowing the primary means of transmission, and 52% were ignorant of the continuing MAM activities with praziquantel. Despite the awareness of 57.5% about the signs, symptoms and preventive practices, there were still wrong beliefs about the transmission of the disease. Sanitation was still of a suboptimal level, with 38.2 percent of the respondents not having toilets or latrines. Finally, although the general attitude of communities and knowledge on schistosomiasis control were positive, there is a huge gap in the understanding of the transmission of the disease, programmatic interventions, and emphasis on preventive practices. Effective control of schistosomiasis in AMAC and related endemic areas require the strengthening of health education, sanitation, and increase the engagement of the community in MAM campaigns, and enhancement of behavioral change using specific information and communication strategies.