Variation in Community Perception on Mosquito-Borne Diseases between Urban and Rural Communities in Gombe State, Nigeria

Aims: This work is aimed at knowing the variation in community perception on mosquito-borne diseases between urban (Gombe) and rural (Filiya) of Gombe State.

Study Design: Each of the two communities was sectioned into longitudinal zones and 150 houses were then randomly selected from the zones in each of the communities for the administration of questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted between April and June 2018 in Gombe and Filiya communities of Gombe state.

Methodology: Quantitative data were collected utilizing open-ended questionnaire covering 300 respondents.

Results: In Gombe (urban community) 98% of respondents had knowledge about mosquitos’ existence unlike Filiya (rural community) with 74%. Concerning mosquito-borne diseases, up to 92% of urban dwellers are aware of one or more mosquito-borne diseases compared to the rural respondent with 46% awareness. 68% of the urban respondents agreed that the frequent breeding places for mosquitoes are drains and polluted waters. On the other hand, 28% of the respondents from the rural community shared this view about the frequent breeding sites of the mosquitoes with the urban dwellers. More so, up to 34% of the rural respondent does not know mosquito breeding sites. Majority of the respondent in the urban areas relied on Nets for protection against mosquito bites while the rural respondent majorly uses coils. Only 36% of respondents in urban community source their treatment from Government health facility against 12% in the rural community. Half of the respondent in the rural community sought treatment from one source or the other.

Conclusion: The popular Mosquito-Borne disease is malaria. Most people have a fair knowledge about malaria prevention and control and see malaria as a threat to their lives and community but the majority had poor practices towards malaria prevention and control. The government should intensify the campaign against malaria.