Ebola virus disease: epidemiology, clinical features and the way forward

The Ebola virus disease is a zoonotic, acute viral syndrome which occurs by infection with one the strains of the Ebola virus. It is primarily endemic in Africa however the recent outbreak in the year 2014 spanned from West Africa all the way to Europe and America. This shows the virus possess a global threat and should not be considered localized to only certain parts of the world. The social and economic impact of zoonotic diseases today is high as 80% of human pathogens are of zoonotic origin. Human to human transmission happens when there is contact with bodily fluids of infected humans during the infectious phase of the disease. This spread could be through nosocomial means or community spread. Poor knowledge of the syndrome among health care workers coupled with lack of funding and deficient resources has crippled their ability to diagnose and break the chain of transmission of the disease at its early stages. The virus undergoes pathogenesis by immune evasion, immune suppression, coagulopathy, and hypovolemic shock, multiple organ failure and death in up to 90% of cases. The unavailability of a cure or vaccine for this syndrome makes it a recurrent threat due to high risk behavior practiced in endemic countries such as bush meat consumption. Thus this study gives the reader a review of current literature on this deadly disease with the aim of increasing knowledge and aiding its prevention and control

Factors associated with attitude regarding the Ebola Virus disease among medical and nursing students in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Background: In recent times the Ebola Virus Disease has been a major source of public health concern. The 2014 West African outbreak affected several Health Care Workers (HCW) and this has negatively affected their attitudes towards the disease. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Nigeria and involved 423 under-graduate medical and nursing students. Multi-stage stratified random sampling was used and data was collected using a pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done using IBM-SPSS version 22. Association between two categorical variables was done using Chi-square test, while Spearman’s correlation was used for correlation between two continuous as well as ordinal variables. The predictors of attitude were analyzed using Multiple Logistic Regression. Result: The mean attitude score was 83.9 ±9.8, about 51.8% had good attitude. Predictors of attitude were age (AOR = 1.099, 95% CI = 1.019 - 1.184), field of study (AOR = 1.953, 95% CI = 1.142 – 3.334) and fifth year of studies (AOR = 1.993, 95% CI = 1.081 – 3.677). Conclusion: Negative attitudes still exist such as fear of infection as well as stigmatization of EVD patients and survivors. There is need for government intervention through funding to improve the situation

Predictors of practicing universal precaution in prevention of nosocomial infection among medical and nursing students in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Background: Hospital acquired infections are increasingly becoming a public health problem and happen usually as a result of poor compliance to standard precaution practices among Health Care Workers (HCW). Health care students are exposed to infectious diseases during their clinical training and may have to perform certain procedures which place this young inexperienced population at a significant risk of contracting and transmitting such diseases. Objectives: To determine the predictors of compliance with universal precaution practices among medical and nursing students in a Nigerian teaching hospital. Study design: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 423 under-graduate medical and nursing students from University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: Respondents were selected using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Data was collected using a pretested structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 22. Chi-square test was used for association between categorical variables while Spearman’s correlation was used to analyze correlation between continuous variables. Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of practice. Results: The mean practice score was 63.7 ±8.7; about 72.8% had good practice. Predictors of practice were age (AOR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.12 - 1.28) and year of studies (AOR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.17- 5.40). Conclusion: Majority of participants had good practice scores however there is still room for improvement

Socio-demographic predictors of knowledge, attitude and practice in relation to Ebola Virus disease among medical and nursing students in a Teaching Hospital

Introduction: The Ebola Virus disease (EVD) is a re-emerging disease, which in recent years has resulted in global fear and panic. The recent 2014 outbreak in West Africa has been devastating both in terms of death rate and wide spread transmission. There is neither a cure nor vaccine available and poor Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) among Health Care Workers (HCW) has amplified the spread of the disease. Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of KAP regarding the EVD among medical and nursing students in their clinical years of training in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Nigeria. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 under-graduate students from the Faculties of Medicine and Nursing at the UMTH Nigeria using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Respondents were first stratified based on field of study and secondly based on year of studies then randomly selected using student rosters. Information on socio-demography as well as KAP was collected using a pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. Knowledge was measured using a three-point scale with responses of either “yes, no or I don’t know”. Attitude was measured using a five-point Likert scale of “1 for strongly disagree to 5 for strongly agree”. Practice was measured using a four-point scale of “1 for never to 4 for all the time”. KAP were categorized as good if the cumulative score was ≥ 70%, otherwise a poor category was assigned. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22. Descriptive analysis was used for socio-demographic variables as frequencies, measures of central tendency and dispersion. For bivariate analysis, chi-square test was used to test for association between socio-demographic categorical variables and categorized KAP. While Spearman’s rank correlation was used to correlate between continuous socio-demographic variables and continuous KAP scores as well as correlation between KAP. Socio-demographic variables with significant association and correlation from bivariate analysis were entered into the regression model and analyzed to determine socio-demographic predictors of KAP using multiple logistic regression by the Forward Likelihood Ratio method. Results: The response rate was 90.7%. Majority had poor knowledge (59.1%), about 51.8% had good attitude, and a majority (72.8%) had good practice respectively. The socio-demographic predictors of knowledge were age (AOR = 1.164, 95% CI = 1.07 - 1.26), field of study (AOR = 4.64, 95% CI = 2.33 – 9.23) and year of studies (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.06 – 4.84). For attitude were age (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.01 – 1.18), field of study (AOR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.14 – 3.34) and year of studies (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.08 – 3.67). While the predictors for practice were age (AOR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.12 – 1.28) and year of studies (AOR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.11 – 5.40). Conclusion: This study determined socio-demographic predictors of KAP regarding EVD among medical and nursing students during their clinical years of training. The findings showed age, year and field of study to be the significant socio-demographic predictors of KAP, which signifies their relevance. The application of these findings towards improving KAP and subsequently the quality of health care services through better government policies is therefore recommended

Ebola virus disease: epidemiology, clinical feature and the way forward

The Ebola virus disease is a zoonotic, acute viral syndrome which occurs by infection with one the strains of the Ebola virus. It is primarily endemic in Africa however the recent outbreak in the year 2014 spanned from West Africa all the way to Europe and America. This shows the virus possess a global threat and should not be considered localized to only certain parts of the world. The social and economic impact of zoonotic diseases today is high as 80% of human pathogens are of zoonotic origin. Human to human transmission happens when there is contact with bodily fluids of infected humans during the infectious phase of the disease. This spread could be through nosocomial means or community spread. Poor knowledge of the syndrome among health care workers coupled with lack of funding and deficient resources has crippled their ability to diagnose and break the chain of transmission of the disease at its early stages. The virus undergoes pathogenesis by immune evasion, immune suppression, coagulopathy, and hypovolemic shock, multiple organ failure and death in up to 90% of cases. The unavailability of a cure or vaccine for this syndrome makes it a recurrent threat due to high risk behavior practiced in endemic countries such as bush meat consumption. Thus this study gives the reader a review of current literature on this deadly disease with the aim of increasing knowledge and aiding its prevention and control

Role of knowledge and attitude in determining standard precaution practices among nursing students

Background: Standard precaution practice (SPP) is aimed at protecting both patients and health professionals alike. The high rate of occupational hazards among health workers especially in developing countries is counterproductive and therefore requires thorough investigation and intervention. This study aims to determine the role of knowledge and attitude in determining SPP among nursing students. Methods:This research involved 172 nursing students at the teaching hospital of University of Maiduguri. Sampling was done using simple random sampling. Knowledge and attitude on towards one of the filoviruses (Ebola) including recommended SPP towards its prevention were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire after written consent. For bivariate correlation, Pearson’s correlation was used between knowledge and SPP, attitude and SPP, then knowledge and attitude. Subsequently the determinants of SPP were analyzed by multiple linear regression using SPSS (IBM Inc.) version 22. Significance level was 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean scores were knowledge 26.27(±6.6), attitude 80(±8.9) and SPP 61.08(±9.04). Correlation results was significant between knowledge and SPP (r=0.485, p<0.05) as well as knowledge and attitude (r=0.134, p<0.05). Knowledge of nursing students was a significant determinant of SPP (b = 0.663, 95% CI = 0.48-0.84, p<0.05). Conclusions:There is an association between knowledge and SPP despite the low level of knowledge among respondents. Improvements in the nursing program curriculum is recommended

Predictors of knowledge regarding Ebola virus disease among medical and nursing students in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Background: The Ebola Virus disease is one of the deadliest re-emerging diseases; the 2014 outbreak has been devastating with thousands of deaths resulting in global panic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 423 under-graduate medical and nursing students from University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Data was collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 22. Chi-square was used for association between categorical variables while Spearman’s correlation was used for correlation between continuous variables. Multiple Logistic regressions were used to determine independent predictors of knowledge. Results: Mean knowledge score was 30.4±6.4, only 40.9% had good knowledge. Predictors of knowledge were Age (AOR=1.164, 95% CI=1.07-1.26), Field of study (AOR=4.64, 95% CI=2.33-9.23) and Year of studies (AOR=2.27, 95% CI = 1.06-4.84). Conclusions: There is still poor knowledge regarding this disease and the need for improvements