Awareness About Ebola Virus Disease Among the Health Care Professionals in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Ebola virus disease is an acute and life-threatening illness, which, if untreated, is fatal. It was first discovered in 1976, which aware the world with sporadic outbreaks of Ebola in some parts of Africa. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the natural reservoir for Ebola virus remains unknown; however, it is yet to be affirmed that the natural habitat is animal-borne where bats are most likely to carry over this virus. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate awareness of health care professionals as they serve as the integral part of our health care system. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 149 health care workers (HCWs) in Civil Hospital of Karachi from June 2015 to August 2015. The study participants were randomly selected individuals who were students of and/or were working in the university’s affiliated tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Results: Baseline characteristics of the study participants are shown in Table 1. Median age of the participants is 21 (range: 17-24) years. Female preponderance was found to be higher (104; 69.8%) as compared with the males (45; 30.2%). Discipline of majority of the study participants was medical technology (80; 53.7%), followed by nurses (38; 25.5%) and doctors (31; 20.8%). Majority of the study respondents were undergraduate medical students (60; 75%) as compared with medical technologist and the nurses (17; 24.6%) with a P value < .001 as shown in Figure 1. The mean for correct responses was 8.43 ± 4.08 (range: 3-17). Appropriate knowledge was observed in 84 (56.4%) responders and inappropriate knowledge was observed in 65 (43.6%) of the study respondents. Conclusion: Our study concludes that there is an unsatisfactory knowledge about Ebola virus disease among health care professionals. Moreover, public health authorities should signify the importance of prevention against Ebola virus disease not only among the health care professionals but also into the communities through mass media and awareness campaigns which can thus halt the panic and incidence of Ebola virus outbreaks in coming decades.