Associated environmental factors, knowledge and practice regarding to anthrax infection in human in Salavan District, Salavan Province, Lao PDR : case-control study

Abstract

Anthrax is a reportable disease and become a world concern as anthrax is found in all continents except Antarctica; many countries in the world are endemic with more frequent outbreaks. In Lao PDR, sporadic cases reported time to time and the most affected province is Salavan province. This study aims to identify risk factors associated with human anthrax in villagers in Salavan district, Salavan province, Lao PDR. The semi-structured questionnaire and observation form of environmental setting was used for data collection, which was carried out in the months of February and March 2012. The 1:2 ratio case-control study design was used, 414 people were included in this study, 138 of them are reported cases from 2009 to 2011 were included in this study, the line list was provided by the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology (NCLE) and 276 controls were selected randomly in all ages and sex in 17 affected villages of Salavan district, Salavan province. The result of multivariable analysis showed that four variables namely religion, occupation, practice of leaving carcass and state of corral associated positively with human anthrax infection with statistical significance (p<0.05). Other environmental factors for instance temperature, weather, humidity, pH of soil and dusty soil should be considered in future research. Collaboration between human health and animal health sectors should be strengthened. Community awareness should consider in these affected areas.