Healthcare workers knowledge and diagnostic practices: a need for dengue and chikungunya training in Moshi Municipality, Kilimanjaro Tanzania.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Dengue and chikungunya virus diseases are becoming an increasingly important global health threats and are continuously expanding their geographical range. The study aims to investigate knowledge and diagnostic practice of dengue and chikungunya fever among healthcare workers in Moshi Municipality. RESULTS: Most of healthcare workers heard of chikungunya and dengue 146 (71.2%) and 203 (99%) respectively. Ninety-five (46.3%) and 152 (74.1%) had good knowledge regard chikungunya and dengue respectively. One hundred and twenty-two of HCWs 122 (59.5%) reported that there is no vaccination for dengue virus. Most HCWs 199 (97.0%) reported that the absence of diagnostic tool for dengue virus lead to difficult in managing the infection. The finding of this study showed that there is insufficient knowledge regarding chikungunya while knowledge regarding dengue is relatively fair. This calls for training regarding these infections.