*Corresponding Author: Sesan Emmanuel Busayo 32 Indiana Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Abbriviate Tittle- Ind J Multi Res ISSN (Online)- 2583-3820 Journal Homepage Link- https://indianapublications.com/Journals/IJMR DOI- Research Article Volume-02|Issue-04|2022 Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude of People towards Lassa fever in Akure South Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria Sesan Emmanuel Busayo* 1 , Sandra Salomy Phiri 2 , Opeyemi Olanike Olajide 3 , & Kemisola Joy Ajeyomi 4 1 Department of Public Health (Epidemiology and Biostatistics), University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Health and Agriculture, University College Dublin (UCD) 3 Department of Health promotion and environmental health education, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria 4 Department of Public Health, Health Information Management Unit, Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara State, Nigeria Article History Received: 15.08.2022 Accepted: 23.08.2022 Published: 31.08.2022 Citation Busayo, S. E., Phiri, S. S., Olajide, O. O., & Ajeyomi, K. J. (2022). Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude of People towards Lassa fever in Akure South Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria. Indiana Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(4), 32-42. Abstract: Lassa fever is an acute viral zoonotic illness caused by Lassa virus, an arena virus known to be responsible for a severe haemorrhagic fever characterized by fever, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and chest and abdominal pain. The main objective of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of people towards Lassa fever in Akure South Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. This design was chosen because it helped to have an in-depth understanding of the knowledge and attitude of people towards Lassa fever in Akure South Local Government, Ondo State, Nigeria. Sample size of 776 was determined using Yamane Taro, (1967) formula and was selected by multistage sampling techniques. Data were collated and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25. This research showed that: majority 730 (95.4%) of the respondents have heard of Lassa fever before. Their main source of information on Lassa fever is media 430 (56.2%) followed by hospital 80 (10.5%). Majority 740 (96.7%) of the respondents agreed they know what causes Lassa fever. Majority 680 (88.2) of the respondents have good knowledge on Lassa fever and 18 (11.8%) of the respondents have poor knowledge on Lassa fever. All 765 (100.0%) of the respondents have made an attempt trying to eradicate the rats in their homes. Majority 605 (79.1%) of the respondents used to cover their foods (both raw and cooked) at home. Most 710 (92.8%) of the respondents covers their foods every day, 45 (5.9%) do so only when they think rats are in the house and 10 (1.3%) used to cover their foods any time they remember. Based on the findings of this study, the following are hereby recommended: (1) The government via the Federal Ministry of Health should continuously and intensively health educate the populace on the problems of Lassa fever, its vector control and treatment. (2) Food items should be cooked before consumption, as the Lassa fever virus is known to be heat labile. (3) Plastic and metal containers such as aluminum pots with covers should be used for storing food items. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Lassa fever. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). INTRODUCTION Theoretical Frame Work Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by a single stranded RNA virus belonging to the Arenaviridae family, it is a zoonotic disease whose reservoir is the multimammate rat of the genus Mastomys. Humans are infected by exposure to food or household items contaminated with excreta or urine of infected rodents, processing of infected rats for consumption, airborne through the inhalation of tiny particles in the air contaminated with infected rodent excretions or reuse of infected needles (Yun & Walker, 2019). Person-to-person transmission also occur especially among healthcare workers through direct contact with body fluids of infected persons, often due to a lack of appropriate infection, prevention and control (IPC) measures whilst receiving care. Lassa fever was first discovered in 1969 in Nigeria following the death of two missionary nurses in Lassa town, Borno State (McCormick, Saluzzo & Dodet, 2015). The disease is endemic in West Africa countries of Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria where about 300,000 to 400,000 cases occur annually with approximately 5,000 deaths. Cases have also been reported in Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and Senegal. Lassa fever cases are difficult to differentiate from other febrile illness and if not well managed could result to high fatality rates (Obadare et al., 2016). In Nigeria, Lassa fever is one of the seven epidemic prone notifiable diseases reportable under the Integrated Disease Surveillance System (IDSR), a suspected case is considered an alert threshold and one confirmed case an epidemic threshold. Sporadic outbreaks occur annually, and have been reported in over one-third of states in Nigeria. There is however paucity of publications on the magnitude of the disease in the country. This could affect early preparedness and INDIANA PRODUCTIVE AND QUALITY RESEARCH OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS