App. Sci. Report. 17 (2), 2017: 52-58 © PSCI Publications Applied Science Reports www.pscipub.com/ASR E-ISSN: 2310-9440 / P-ISSN: 2311-0139 DOI: 10.15192/PSCP.ASR.2017.17.2.5258 Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Management of Malaria in Rural Communities in Khana Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria LeBari Barine Gboeloh 1 Department of Biology, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt Corresponding author email: lgboeloh@yahoo.com Paper Information A B S T R A C T Received: 13 September, 2016 Accepted: 10 December, 2016 Published: 20 February, 2017 Malaria is still an important mosquito-borne disease and a critical public health concern in Nigeria. This study was carried out to survey the knowledge, attitude and management of malaria in some rural communities of Nyo-Khana District of Khana Local Government Area, Rivers State. A cross sectional survey was adopted for the study using self-designed questionnaires. Out of the 400 questionnaires distributed, only 316 were answered and returned. Despite some wrong perceptions, 241(76.3%) of respondents implicated mosquitoes bite as the major cause of malaria while 94.6% of the respondents agreed that mosquitoes is responsible for the transmission of malaria. Again, 93.0% and 77 .5% of the respondents agreed that mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and bite at night respectively. The major symptoms mentioned by respondents included fever (85.4%), headache (85.4%), body weakness (56.9%) and shivering (56.9%). Almost all the respondents (93.9%) agreed that malaria is preventable. chemoprophylaxis (97.8%) and use of chemoprophylaxis (97.8%) use of chemoprophylaxis (97.8%) were the major means of prevention mentioned by the respondents. The treatment-seeking behaviour of the respondents included use of herbs (57.3%) and use of modern drugs (35.1%). The study indicates that the malaria related knowledge in the area is high, hence government and stakeholders can adopt a community-base approach in the management of the disease. © 2017 PSCI Publisher All rights reserved. Key words: Malaria, Knowledge, Attitude, Management, Nyo-Khana Introduction Malaria is a major parasitic disease common to all tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world where anopheles mosquitoes can survive and reproduce. It is however prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa which accounts for an estimated 80% of global cases and 78% of death (WHO, 2015). Globally, there are 214million cases of malaria with African region, South East Asia region and Eastern Mediterranean region accounting for 88%, 10% and 2% respectively (WHO, 2015). About 97% of Nigerians live in malaria endemic region of the country (USE, 2011). To this end, the socioeconomic impact of the disease on productivity is very noticeable. Nigeria losses an estimated 132billion naira in loss of man-hour, prevention and treatment cost (FMH, 2007). Again, an estimated 50% of the population experience at least one episode of malaria while children under the age of five years have 2-4 bouts (FMH, 2005., Omolade et al., 2016). The infection is closely related to climatic conditions and poverty, and perception about the causes and management of the disease lie in the community (Heggenhougen et al., 2003), hence effective control of the infection is influenced by the belief and culture of the people (Adara, 2003). Knowledge, attitude and management of malaria among residents of urban and rural population have been investigated in Africa ( Ukpom et al., 2007, Okral et al., 2002; Rupashree et al., 2014). In Nigeria, similar studies have revealed misconception about causes, symptoms and prevention of malaria (Erhun et al., 2004). Hence, deliberate and appropriate education and orientation of the population have been advocated to enhance effective control program (Erhun et al., 2002). In spite of financial and material efforts by the World Health Organization, partner agencies and home government to control the disease, it is still a major health challenge especially in the study area. Therefore, this study is aimed at the assessment of knowledge of the people and residence of the study area in relation to malaria.