1Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Deralakatte, Mangalore
2Post-Graduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Deralakatte, Mangalore
3Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Deralakatte, Mangalore
4Professor, Department of Community Medicine, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Deralakatte, Mangalore
The 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak was characterised by fear, misconceptions and irrational behaviours. We conducted a study on awareness of the people about Ebola. A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in satellite health centres of Nitte University and 200 people were interviewed by convenient sampling method. 60% of the subjects were aware about Ebola. 17.5% subjects said there is no treatment for Ebola and 12% said that the disease is highly fatal. 59% opined that hand washing is an important measure of personal hygiene and prevention against Ebola. 83% subjects said that the disease can be spread from dead infected person to a healthy individual who comes in contact with the cadaver. Community awareness campaigns should be conducted through mass media to educate people regarding Ebola and demystify if there are any myths and misconceptions.
Ebola, Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude
