Resources

Monkeypox: Did the Nigerian media do more harm than good?

The objective of this study was to describe the kind of information published by the media during the Monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria. Although most of the information reported were from verifiable sources, there was a high level of sensationalism around the Monkeypox outbreak which heightened public anxiety. Health reporters and the media in Nigeria should be trained on how to accurately report disease outbreak reports and health facts.

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Knowledge, attitude and practice to Lassa fever virus among shop owners in four community markets in a military barrack in Kaduna state, Nigeria

This resource describes the results of a Knowledge, attitude and practice survey conducted amongst shop owners of four community markets in a military barrack in Kaduna state, Nigeria. The findings in this study show that the respondents have a good knowledge, and positive attitudes and practices towards Lassa fever virus. Nonetheless, awareness programs should continue, proper medical care should be provided for the sick, and protective gears should be available to health care workers.

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Awareness of Lassa fever in a rural community in South West Nigeria

The study showed that there was poor awareness of Lassa fever among members of the community. Thus efforts should be made to increase the awareness of the populace through health campaigns, and to reduce the spread of both the vector and the virus.

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Public awareness of Lassa fever in three rural communities of Nigeria

This resource aims to assess public awareness of Lassa fever among residents of three rural communities in Edo State, Nigeria through the use of a structured questionnaire. The television was the most popular source of Lassa fever awareness in all communities studied. Among participants who reported to have heard of Lassa fever, vehicles of transmission of disease mentioned included mosquito bites 9 (32.1%), dog bites 7 (25%) and eating of rat-contaminated food 2 (7.1%). Sleeping under mosquito bed nets and intake of herbal concoction were the principal mode of prevention of Lassa fever reported by respondents.

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Popular concerns about medical research projects in sub-Saharan Africa – a critical voice in debates about medical research ethics

This resource aims to move beyond the dismissal of stories about blood-stealing and trade in body parts as ‘mere’ rumour, based on erroneous belief or traditional superstition, and to instead appreciate them as modern commentaries on social relations that involve, and extend far beyond, scientific medical research.

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Speaking with vampires: Rumor and history in colonial Africa

This book presents and interprets vampire stories from East and Central Africa as a way of understanding the world as the storytellers did. Using gossip and rumour as historical sources in their own right, it assesses the place of such evidence, oral and written, in historical reconstruction.

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