A survey of chloroquine use for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Background: Rampant chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine poisoning in Nigerian hospitals following suggestions of its possible efficacy in the treatment and prevention of the newly emerged COVID-19 disease informed this survey. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception of the Nigerian populace on the use of chloroquine in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done by administering an electronic questionnaire created using Google Docs, through social media cascade methods including the WhatsApp application software to capture data on chloroquine use between April 20 and June 20, 2020. Results: Six hundred and twenty-eight people responded to the questionnaire (response rate 99.2%, mean age 41.05 ± 12.3) from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria with 556 (88.5%) having tertiary level education. Only 21 (3.3%) of the respondents took chloroquine for treatment or prevention. Respondents from the North-west geopolitical zones used chloroquine 5.8 (95% CI: 1.55, 21.52, p=0.02) more times than other zones while the age group 20-29 were 8.8 times more likely to use chloroquine than any other age group (95% CI: 3.53, 21.70, p = 0.00). Female respondents were 2.3 times more likely to use chloroquine than the males (OR 2.26 95% CI: 0.90-5.68; p=0.08) and those in the income bracket of N75,000-99,000, 2.5 times more than other income groups. Conclusion: Young adults, North-western geopolitical zone, and female gender should be target groups for education on rational chloroquine use. The danger of chloroquine overdose should be communicated to the general population in Nigeria.

Knowledge, attitudes and perception of communities on mosquitoes and its control practices in Lagos State, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: evidence-based mosquito control strategy is important for efficient and effective delivery of mosquito control interventions. This is hinged on effective community participation and thorough understanding of the Knowledge Attitude and Practices (KAPs) to achieve desired result. Such community dynamics are often understudied. We designed this study to assess the perception of four local communities on aspects of mosquito behavior, prevention and control in Lagos State, Nigeria. METHODS: a cross-sectional survey was carried out using pretested semi-structured questionnaires to assess socio-demographic factors and KAPs in Kosofe, Alimosho, Ibeju-Lekki and Badagry Local Government Areas of Lagos State, Nigeria. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 23. RESULTS: a total of 746 questionnaires were analyzed. Socio-demographic profile of the sampled population reveals that majority of the study population (73.1%) was between 18 and 40 years which constitute 49% males and 51% females. The knowledge of mosquito as a disease vector was high among the respondents which correlates with their level of education (P<0.05). The use of insecticide aerosols and Insecticides Treated Nets (ITNs) are the main control measures employed for mosquito control by respondents. Cost, convenience of usage and awareness majorly influenced the type of control measures that respondents adopt. Reasons such as not being easy to setup, skin irritation and the filling of being caged are reasons why some individuals do not use ITNs. Indoors, 32.4% of the respondents indicate the use of dichlorvos (DDVP) for household control of mosquitoes. CONCLUSION: the knowledge of mosquito control is high among middle aged individuals in Lagos State. Insecticide aerosols and ITNs are two major mosquito control methods used with DDVP insecticides frequently used indoors. This can inform the design of appropriate control methods in Lagos State.