To Assess the Knowledge Regarding Monkey Fever among Agriculture Workers in Selected Village of Mysuru District

Abstract

Background of the study: Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) known commonly as monkey fever is a tick-borne zoonotic disease. This was first reported in India in 1957 in Shivamogga district. Subsequently, it spread to other parts of the state and outside Karnataka, since it has been Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, Wayanad and Malappuram district in Kerala, north Goa and in Sindhugurg district of Maharashtra. Kyasanur forest disease is a febrile disease associated with hemorrhages caused by an Arbovirus flavivirus. KFD virus is a member of group B toga viruses which belongs to Russian spring summer encephalitis (RSSE) group of viruses. It commonly occurs in age between 20 and 40 years; it is most common in males; it commonly occurs in cultivators who visit forest with cattle or for cutting wood. Epidemic correlates with peak human activity in forests i.e. between January and June. Objectives: (1) To assess the level of knowledge regarding monkey fever among agricultural workers in selected village of Mysuru district. (2) To find the association between level of knowledge regarding monkey fever among agricultural workers with their selected personal variables. Method: The research design selected for this study was descriptive design. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was adopted to select 60 agricultural workers in selected area under Varuna PHC, at Mysuru. Result: Result revealed that majority of sample was having average knowledge on monkey fever among agricultural workers but there was significant association between level of knowledge of agricultural workers regarding monkey fever with selected personal variable like age, education awareness, and source of information. Conclusion: It was concluded that level of knowledge on monkey fever was average and there is a statistically significant association between the knowledge and demographic variable.