Knowledge of Malaria and Implications for Control in an Endemic Urban Area of North Central Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the people's knowledge about malaria in an urban area of north central Nigeria. Data were collected from about 1,500 respondents, using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, that assessed the people's knowledge of the symptoms, mode of transmission and prevention of malaria. The results revealed that 80.95% of the respondents correctly associated malaria with clinical symptoms of the disease, while the remaining 19.05% attributed non-malaria conditions. Though, all the respondents claimed to know the cause of malaria, only 89.47% correctly mentioned mosquito bites while, the remaining 10.53% gave spurious answers. Almost all the respondents knew an appropriate method of preventing malaria, with the use of mosquito coils/aerosol and bed nets been the most preferred options. The epidemiological implications of these results were highlighted and discussed. It was concluded that the findings will serve as an impetus for re-designing anti-malaria behavioural change communication messages.