Knowledge, attitude and prevention practices toward dengue among the Mauritian population. A cross-sectional study

After an absence of more than four decades, dengue reemerged in Mauritius in 2009, with seven outbreaks being recorded to date.

This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of the Mauritian population on dengue.

A questionnaire was designed, and a survey was carried out among 405 participants. The KAP scores of respondents were calculated and categorized as excellent, adequate or poor.

The correlation between knowledge and practice was very weak (τ = 0.088; p = 0.022) while that between attitude and practice was moderate (τ = 0.198; p = 0.001). It was noted that 47.2 % respondents had excellent scores on general knowledge on dengue, 96.5% obtained excellent scores on the knowledge of preventive practices and 17.5% had excellent scores on implementation of the preventive measures. Poor knowledge was noted on the cure for dengue (4.2%), re-infections could lead to health complications (22.5 %), and dengue vector biting in the early mornings and evenings (36.8 %). Furthermore, only 20.0% used mosquito repellent creams, 21.0% used mosquito nets on windows, 33.8% wore protective clothes and 36.8% checked their yards for water accumulation weekly. Elderly, those with lower education background, of lower socio-economic class and residing in rural areas obtained significantly lower KAP scores within their respective sub-group. Females were more likely to wear mosquito repellent cream (p = 0.028) and long-sleeved clothes (p = 0.015).

This study revealed high knowledge of dengue preventive practices but poor prevention practices among respondents. This calls for additional sensitization programs in specific identified groups.