Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude, and Preventive Practices Towards Leptospirosis Endemic in Northern of Sarawak

• Main Author: Millenia Valentina Juhi, Nix Drin
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2022
• Subjects: RC Internal medicine
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39622/3/MILLENIA%20VALENTINA%20JUHI%20ANAK%20NIX%20DRIN%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39622/

The zoonotic bacterial disease caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Leptospira sp., known as leptospirosis, has been around since the 19th century. It is infectious and transmitted from animals to humans. This disease is burdensome in both urban and rural areas due to under diagnosis and under reported as it can be hard to detect. The main animal reservoir is known to be rodents, though other animals may also be carriers of this disease. The symptoms of leptospirosis include fever, headache as well as nausea and should be treated right away. In this study, the main objective of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices (KAP) of individuals towards leptospirosis disease that is spreading endemically within the northern of Sarawak. This was studied by distributing a Google Form survey to those residing in Miri, Bintulu, Limbang, and Mulu via social media. The data collected from 315 respondents was analysed using SPSS. Majority of the respondents had good knowledge and preventive practices towards leptospirosis but only half of the respondents had satisfactory attitude concerning the disease. Through this, a more revised understanding on the situation of leptospirosis in the selected area can be studied to gain wider knowledge on the risk factors of this disease.