Next Article in Journal
Epidemiological Distribution of Rodents as Potent Reservoirs for Infectious Diseases in the Provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan and Golestan, Northern Iran
Previous Article in Journal
Resistance to Colistin in Klebsiella pneumoniae: A 4.0 Strain?
 
 
Infectious Disease Reports is published by MDPI from Volume 12 Issue 3 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with PAGEPress.
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

School-Based Health Education in Yucatan, Mexico about the Chikungunya virus and Mosquito Illness Prevention

by
Monica Seungah Choo
* and
R. Alexander Blackwood
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Office of Health Equity and Inclusion, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2017, 9(2), 6894; https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2017.6894
Submission received: 20 September 2016 / Revised: 16 January 2017 / Accepted: 27 January 2017 / Published: 31 May 2017

Abstract

The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has been rapidly spreading throughout Latin America, utilizing pre-existing vectors to infiltrate the immunologically naïve populations. With the current rise of the Zika Virus, there is an urgent need for more rigorous vector control efforts to prevent further Zika breakout. We designed a schoolbased education module on CHIKV and mosquito prevention and presented it to the local students of ages of 6-18 in a rural town called Sudzal in Yucatan, Mexico. We distributed questionnaires before and after education to test the students’ knowledge of CHIKV and mosquito prevention. Chisquared test was performed to determine the efficacy of the presentation in increasing their knowledge. The education presentation has proven to effectively educate the local residents in several critical methods of mosquito prevention, increasing the average test scores by 67% post-education. These include applying repellent, staying hydrated during recuperation, and cleaning indoor water containers to eliminate breeding sites (P<0.001). Furthermore, the questionnaire captured the residents’ behavioral patterns regarding CHIKV and mosquito prevention and identified cultural, ecological, and socioeconomic factors hindering effective implementation of vector control.
Keywords: School-based; community education; mosquito; Chikungunya; prevention School-based; community education; mosquito; Chikungunya; prevention

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Choo, M.S.; Blackwood, R.A. School-Based Health Education in Yucatan, Mexico about the Chikungunya virus and Mosquito Illness Prevention. Infect. Dis. Rep. 2017, 9, 6894. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2017.6894

AMA Style

Choo MS, Blackwood RA. School-Based Health Education in Yucatan, Mexico about the Chikungunya virus and Mosquito Illness Prevention. Infectious Disease Reports. 2017; 9(2):6894. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2017.6894

Chicago/Turabian Style

Choo, Monica Seungah, and R. Alexander Blackwood. 2017. "School-Based Health Education in Yucatan, Mexico about the Chikungunya virus and Mosquito Illness Prevention" Infectious Disease Reports 9, no. 2: 6894. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2017.6894

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop