Ejaz Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Ullah, Uzma Foud, Ali Raza, Mahnum Akif, Umar Asghar.
Knowledge and Perception about Dengue Fever among Private Medical College Students of Lahore.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;13(2):369-72.

Background: Dengue is one of the most common and fatal mosquitoes inflicted viral disease that human encounter , affecting approximately 100 million people worldwide. It has become a major public health concerns and prevails as an endemic in various regions of Pakistan with high mortality rate. These outbreaks and subsequent high mortality every year are due to low awareness level of the community especially in densely populated areas. Health professionals are widely listened and play a vital role in health education and mass awareness of life-saving messages. Aim: To assess knowledge and perception of dengue fever among students of a private medical college at Lahore . Method: A cross sectional study was conducted using semi-structured , pre-tested questionnaire for collection of knowledge and perceptions of medical student’s data about dengue fever. The target convenient sample was 30 0 private medical college students (75 from each class) of first four years of MBBS (final year excluded). These questionnaires were responded voluntarily after availing respondent consent s. Results: Among the 300 respondents, 67% were female and 33% male students of basic sciences ( 1st, 2nd years) and pre-clinical sciences ( 3rd and 4th years ) of MBBS. Among the respondents only 21 % knew that the dengue vector is an Aedes mosquito while 35 % correctly answered that Aedes breeds in clean water pots. Among the students 100 % knew fever as the primary symptom, 49% bleeding and 39% muscular fatigue and joint pains. In a multiple answer mosquito net (10 0% positive answers) was declared as main preventive measure while covering water pots (55% positive answers) as second. Conclusion: The knowledge level of pre-clinical medical students was much better than the basic sciences students. It is concluded that dengue awareness health education campaigns may be arranged for medical students in order to raise their level of knowledge and perception.

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