Knowledge Attitude and Practices about Typhoid Fever in Adolescents and Adults of Islamabad Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study
Keywords:
Fever, Food safety, Knowledge, Hygiene practices, Pakistan, TyphoidAbstract
Background: Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella Typhi, is a major public health challenge in Pakistan, predominantly due to inadequate sanitation and contaminated food and water. While significant strides have been made in disease surveillance and hygiene promotion, gaps persist in public knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding its prevention and management.
Objective: The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices about typhoid fever in adolescents and adults living in Islamabad.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2020, involving 283 participants aged 15 and above. Data were collected through structured questionnaires encompassing socio-demographics, knowledge, attitude and hygiene practices. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS to identify correlations between variables.
Results: Most respondents (93.3%) were aware of typhoid fever, yet only 63.3% understood its transmission routes. Hygiene practices were high, with 94.7% acknowledging the role of handwashing in food safety. However, gaps were noted in food handling behaviors, such as sanitizer usage (35.7%). Positive attitudes toward prevention were reflected by 92.2% of participants emphasizing proper cooking methods. Statistical analysis highlighted significant associations between hygiene practices and disease prevention.
Conclusion: Despite high awareness and generally positive attitudes, inconsistencies in preventive practices underscore the need for enhanced public health education focusing on proper hygiene and food safety. Strengthening surveillance and targeted interventions could further reduce the burden of typhoid fever in Pakistan.
Downloads
References
. Nahimana MR, Ngoc CT, Olu O, Nyamusore J, Isiaka A, Ndahindwa V, et al. Knowledge, attitude and practice of hygiene and sanitation in a Burundian refugee camp: im-plications for control of a Salmonella typhi outbreak. Pan Afr Med J. 2017;28:54.
. House D, Bishop A, Parry C, Dougan G, Wain J. Typhoid fever: pathogenesis and disease. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2001;14(5):573-8.
. Sinha A, Sazawal S, Kumar R, Sood S, Reddaiah VP, Singh B, et al. Typhoid fever in children aged less than 5 years. Lancet. 1999;354(9180):734-7.
. Antillón M, Warren JL, Crawford FW, Weinberger DM, Kürüm E, Pak GD, et al. The burden of typhoid fever in low-and middle-income countries: a meta-regression ap-proach. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017;11(2):e0005376.
. Obaro SK, Iroh Tam PY, Mintz ED. The unrecognized burden of typhoid fever. Expert Review of Vaccines. 2017;16(3):249-60.
. Crump JA. Progress in typhoid fever epidemiology. Clin Infect Dis. 2019;68(Suppl 1):S4-9.
. Rasul F, Sughra K, Mushtaq A, Zeeshan N, Mehmood S, Rashid U. Surveillance report on typhoid fever epidemi-ology and risk factor assessment in district Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. Biomed Res. 2017;28(8):1-6.
. Khan MJ, Mian AM, Khurshid MS. Knowledge, attitude & practice among the food handlers of Bahawal Victoria Hospital, BWP. Ind American J Pharm Sci. 2018;5(6):6174-9.
. Gebreeyessus GD, Adem DB. Knowledge, attitude, and practice on hygiene and morbidity status among tertiary students: the case of Kotebe Metropolitan University, Ad-dis Ababa, Ethiopia. J Envir Pub Heal. 2018;2018(1):2094621.
. Zain MM, Naing NN. Sociodemographic characteristics of food handlers and their knowledge, attitude and prac-tice towards food sanitation: a preliminary report. South-east Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2002;33(2):410-7.
. Prasad N, Jenkins AP, Naucukidi L, Rosa V, Sahu-Khan A, Kama M, et al. Epidemiology and risk factors for ty-phoid fever in Central Division, Fiji, 2014–2017: a case-control study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018;12(6):e0006571.
. Smith SI, Agomo CO, Bamidele M, Opere BO, Aboaba OO. Survey of food handlers in bukas (a type of local res-taurant) in Lagos, Nigeria about typhoid fever. Health. 2010;2(8):951.
. Akabanda F, Hlortsi EH, Owusu-Kwarteng J. Food safe-ty knowledge, attitudes and practices of institutional food-handlers in Ghana. BMC Pub Heal. 2017;17:1-9.
. Al Banna MH, Kundu S, Brazendale K, Ahinkorah BO, Disu TR, Seidu AA, et al. Knowledge and awareness about food safety, foodborne diseases, and microbial hazards: A cross-sectional study among Bangladeshi con-sumers of street-vended foods. Food Cont. 2022;134:108718.
. Asmawi UM, Norehan AA, Salikin K, Rosdi NA, Munir NA, Basri NB. An assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices in food safety among food handlers engaged in food courts. Curr Res Nutr Food Sci J. 2018;6(2):346-53.
. Mallick AK, Kumar SS, Bangari J, Suyal H. Knowledge, attitude and practice of fever and febrile illness among parents of under five children. Int J Cont Pediatr. 2019;6(5):2103.
. Tuitoek DJ. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and prac-tice of typhoid transmission in ishaka town council, Bushenyi District, Western Uganda. BioClin Int Res J. 2020;1(1), 37–41.
. Anuradha M, Dandekar RH. Knowledge, attitude and practice among food handlers on food borne diseases: a hospital based study in tertiary care hospital. Int J Biomed Adv Res. 2014;5(4):196-8.
. Brainard J, D’hondt R, Ali E, Van den Bergh R, De Weggheleire A, Baudot Y, et al. Typhoid fever outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Case control and ecological study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018;12(10):e0006795.
. Sibiya JE, Gumbo JR. Knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) survey on water, sanitation and hygiene in selected schools in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa. Int J Envir Res Pub Heal. 2013;10(6):2282-95.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Open Access Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
