Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025164 (Oral 131) | Published: 15 Aug 2025
Aminata Grace Kobie1,2,&, Abiodun Olaiya Paul3
1School of Public Health, Texila American University, Guyana, 2Disease Prevention and Control, Health Promotion Programe, World Health Organization, Africa Region, 3Texila American University, Zambia
&Corresponding author: Aminata Grace Kobie, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Guyana. Email: mahoia@who.int
Received: 06 May 2025 Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 15 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, rats, symptoms, and transmission
©Aminata Grace Kobie et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Aminata Grace Kobie et al., Quantitative assessment of socio-cultural determinants of Lassa Fever transmission in Kailahun and Kenema Districts, Sierra Leone. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00131. https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00131
Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease primarily transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of the Mastomys natalensis rat. This study examines the socio-cultural determinants of Lassa fever transmission in Kailahun and Kenema districts, Sierra Leone. Methodology: This study employed a descriptive and cross-sectional quantitative design to assess socio-cultural determinants of Lassa fever transmission in Kailahun and Kenema Districts, Sierra Leone. Structured questionnaires were used to gather data from household heads.
Findings indicate a high awareness of Lassa fever (90.9%), with health centers (48.9%) being the primary source of information. While 76.4% of respondents identified common symptoms, knowledge of specific symptoms such as muscle aches (23.2%) and bleeding (23.2% remained low. Misconceptions about transmission was evident, with only 54.7% recognizing direct rodent contact as a risk factor, while 3.1% attributed it to mosquito bites. Preventive practices were inadequate, with only 12.8% being aware of proper food storage and 4.3% recognizing personal protective equipment use. A high percentage (91.4%) reported using traps or other rodent control methods. However, 4.9% engaged in hunting and consuming rats. Proper food storage remains a critical Issue, with only 56.5% using sealed containers while 18.8% used open containers, exposing food to rodent contamination. Sociocultural analysis revealed that older age groups (AOR = 5.505, p=0.011) had significantly higher odds of experiencing Lassa fever symptoms. Poor hygiene (AOR – 1,555, p=0.008) and improper waste disposal (AOR = 2.968, p=0.046) were also key risk factors.
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