Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards yaws in endemic areas of Ghana, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire.

Autor: Beiras CG; Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections section, Fight Infectious Diseases Foundation, Hospital Universitari Germans Trías i Pujol; Badalona, Spain.; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain., Kouadio AT; Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d'Ivoire., Handley BL; Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom., Arhinful D; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Tchatchouang S; Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Houndji ASS; Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d'Ivoire., Nartey ET; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Sarpong DO; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Menguena G; Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Ndzomo P; Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Basing LA; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Hugues KA; Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d'Ivoire.; National Program of African Trypanosomiasis Elimination, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire., Amanor IB; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Bakheit M; Mast Diagnostica GmbH, Reinfeld, Germany., Landmann E; Mast Diagnostica GmbH, Reinfeld, Germany., Awondo P; Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Müller C; Institute of International Animal Health/One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany., Crucitti T; Experimental Bacteriology Unit, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar., Borst N; Laboratory for MEMS Applications, Department of Microsystems Engineering - IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Freiburg , Germany., Becherer L; Laboratory for MEMS Applications, Department of Microsystems Engineering - IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Freiburg , Germany., Lüert S; Institute of International Animal Health/One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany., Frischmann S; Mast Diagnostica GmbH, Reinfeld, Germany., Sylla A; Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d'Ivoire., Kouamé-Sina MS; Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d'Ivoire., Harding-Esch EM; Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom., Knauf S; Institute of International Animal Health/One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.; Professorship for One Health/International Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany., Mitjà O; Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections section, Fight Infectious Diseases Foundation, Hospital Universitari Germans Trías i Pujol; Badalona, Spain.; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain., Eyangoh S; Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon., Addo KK; Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Kakou SN; Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d'Ivoire., Marks M; Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.; Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PLoS neglected tropical diseases [PLoS Negl Trop Dis] 2024 Jun 20; Vol. 18 (6), pp. e0012224. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 20 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012224
Abstrakt: Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue, remains a significant public health concern in tropical regions of West Africa and the South Pacific, primarily affecting children in remote areas with limited access to hygiene and sanitation. In this study, conducted in three endemic countries of West Africa where yaws remains a significant public health concern (Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire), we aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to yaws among community members, community health workers (CHWs), and traditional healers. The study revealed variations in the perception of causes of yaws among community members: the majority or participants in Ghana attributed yaws to germs (60.2%); in Cameroon the most reported form of transmission was contact with or drinking infected water sources (44.6%); and in Côte d'Ivoire both of these answers were also the most prevalent (60.3% germs and 93.% water sources). A substantial proportion of participants in Côte d'Ivoire also associated yaws with witchcraft and divine punishment (44.8%). Only a small proportion of individuals in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire correctly identified contact with an infected person as a form of transmission (11.9% and 20.7%, respectively) and less than half in Cameroon (42.6%), although more than 98% of all participants reported avoidance behaviours towards yaws infected people due to fear of getting infected. Most participants expressed a preference for seeking care at hospitals (49.2%, 60.6%, 86.2%) or health care professionals including doctors and nurses (58.5%, 41,5% and 17.2%) if they were diagnosed with yaws, although a quarter of participants in Côte d'Ivoire also sought support from traditional healers. The CHWs interviewed were generally well-trained on yaws causes and treatment options, although they often reported low availability of treatment and diagnostic tests for yaws. Our findings underscore the need for community education, awareness campaigns, ongoing CHW training, and improved access to yaws treatment and diagnostic resources. The data also suggest that collaboration with traditional healers, who usually hold a highly esteemed position in the society, such as giving training on yaws causes and transmission or exchanging knowledge on treatment options, could be beneficial in certain regions, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Beiras et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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