Perceived Severity and Susceptibility towards Leptospirosis Infection in Malaysia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Settings
2.2. Study Design
2.3. Study Sample
2.4. Data Collection
2.5. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Perceived Severity of Leptospirosis
“It is severe because people could die from it. It leads to death, so it is just as dangerous as AIDS. The rat urine disease is categorized as one of the dangerous diseases. The father of my office mate; Linda, died from this disease within a week” (urban)
“This disease can lead to death or comatose. I have seen a patient at the hospital who went from being overweight to extremely skinny” (rural)
“The death of an artist from leptospirosis went viral once. It is indeed dangerous” (urban)
“It takes a very long time to confirm whether it is leptospirosis. One must go to the hospital for a blood test, then monitor the progress, watch for symptoms at home, and wait for the laboratory results. The detection occurs quite late, and meanwhile, patient health worsens. So yes, it can lead to death” (urban)
“I give a score of 2 because we know how to prevent it and thus can be more careful about it” (urban)
“I give it a score of 5. Leptospirosis is 80% treatable” (urban)
“I give it a score of 5. It is not that dangerous. I mean, compared to cancer, it is not that serious” (urban)
“It is not like cancer that can suddenly appear in our body without us knowing if or when we will get it. But leptospirosis can be prevented right from the beginning” (urban)
“If it is not dangerous, there would not be any campaigns to remind the public. However, if it is dangerous, campaigns would be in place. The Ministry of Health does not seem to highlight leptospirosis much” (rural)
“I think leptospirosis is the most dangerous disease because people can die from it and because the parasite comes from the mosquitoes that are present everywhere (in the bushes, woods, and house). It can bite animals like rats that can bite us, humans. So, if we get a fever, we might have leptospirosis” (urban)
“My score on the fear scale is 5. I cannot give a ten because I do not know much about the disease [laugh]” (rural)
“If a person dies straight away, then it is not dangerous. But if a person remains ill for a long time, it is scarier” (rural)
“I give a score of 5–6 if it is preventable. But if one does not seek any treatment for it, then I give it a 10 in terms of severity” (urban)
3.2. Perceived Susceptibility towards Leptospirosis
“The disease is only present in the marketplace. I have rats in my house that urinate everywhere; however, it has been three years, and I’m still fine, which means that the urine of house rats has no germs and is not dangerous” (rural)
“To my knowledge, sports enthusiasts were the ones commonly infected by this disease” (urban)
“In my opinion, people who are at risk of this disease are those who practiced unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking and preferred to eat outside where food hygiene is not guaranteed. We must also be careful with the selection of the recreational areas that we visited to prevent exposure to infection. Pay attention to the media and should be aware of the places and avoid going to these places especially when it rains” (rural)
“I believe that the immigrants are more prone to leptospirosis infection because they eat and simply throw away their food waste; this can lead to rat infestation” (urban)
“I regularly wash my hands, but the garbage disposal is poorly managed, and there are house pests everywhere. The children, they love to play in water puddles when it rains. All these are very risky, and we are all at risk” (urban)
4. Discussion
Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Sukeri, S.; Zahiruddin, W.M.; Shafei, M.N.; Hamat, R.A.; Osman, M.; Jamaluddin, T.Z.M.T.; Daud, A.B. Perceived Severity and Susceptibility towards Leptospirosis Infection in Malaysia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6362. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176362
Sukeri S, Zahiruddin WM, Shafei MN, Hamat RA, Osman M, Jamaluddin TZMT, Daud AB. Perceived Severity and Susceptibility towards Leptospirosis Infection in Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(17):6362. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176362
Chicago/Turabian StyleSukeri, Surianti, Wan Mohd Zahiruddin, Mohd Nazri Shafei, Rukman Awang Hamat, Malina Osman, Tengku Zetty Maztura Tengku Jamaluddin, and Aziah Binti Daud. 2020. "Perceived Severity and Susceptibility towards Leptospirosis Infection in Malaysia" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 17: 6362. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176362