Knowledge, risk perception and mitigation measures towards Ebola virus disease by potentially exposed bushmeat handlers in north‐central Nigeria: Any critical gap?

Summary The bushmeat industry has been a topic of increasing importance among public health officials for its influence on zoonotic diseases transmission, such as Ebola virus disease ( EVD ), a rare and severe infectious disease of humans and non‐human primates. This survey assessed knowledge/awareness, risk perceptions and mitigation practices towards EVD among bushmeat handlers in north‐central Nigeria. These characteristics are premise to level of preparedness against appropriate risk prevention and control. A questionnaire‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted between January and December 2015 on 395 bushmeat handlers. Descriptive and analytical statistical analyses were performed using Epi‐Info 3.5.3 software, and p  < 0.05 was considered statistical significance in all analyses. Mean age of respondents was 40.9 ± 10.7 years, and most (30.4%) of them were in the age group 40–49 years. Majority (82.8%) of them were males, while most (47.9%) do not possess formal education. Bushmeat hunters, vendors and consumers constituted 17.2%, 28.1% and 54.7% of the respondents, respectively. A majority (85.6%) of the participants had heard about EVD . Bushmeat vendors were more likely ( OR 1.96; 95% CI : 1.05–3.65) to have satisfactory knowledge than the hunters. Handlers with tertiary education were more likely ( OR 3.22; 95% CI : 1.56–6.67) to possess significant satisfactory knowledge/awareness about EVD . Also, vendors were more likely ( OR 1.85; 95% CI : 1.01–3.42) to practice satisfactory mitigation measures than the hunters. Only handlers with tertiary education were more likely ( OR 2.48; 95% CI : 1.26–4.89) to significantly practice satisfactory mitigation measures against EVD . Although most of the handlers possessed significant knowledge/awareness about EVD , few applied mitigation measures against its infection, which is the challenging gap. There is a need for collaborations between the public health, veterinary and wildlife authorities in the provision of health information to bushmeat handlers on better management of emerging and re‐emerging zoonotic viral diseases of wildlife origin.