Some local beliefs on the causes of malaria in three rural areas of Enugu State, South-eastern Nigeria

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey amongst 28 rural health workers from Nkanu West, Uzo-Uwani and Isi-Uzo Local Government Areas (LGAs) conducted within a workshop on the use of insecticide treated nets in the preventive control of malaria. The aim was to identify some local beliefs on the causes of malaria in the LGAs. Each participant was requested to compile a list of these beliefs encountered in the communities under his health catchment area. The individual lists were pooled to produce a single list for each LGA. The LGA lists were further combined to produce a grand list. Items on the grand list were classified into seven groups based on similarity of beliefs as follows: lifestyle (7 items), food (6), exposure (4), drinks (3), heredity (2), superstition 91) and biological (1). These depicted a gross unawareness to the causes of malaria.

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 25, 2004: 45-49