Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, which is a neglected tropical disease caused by Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by Simulium damnosum blackflies, continues to be an important public health problem in Nigeria, affecting about 33 million people. The key approach in managing this condition is the use of Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI), and the effectiveness of this approach mainly depends on knowledge levels, attitudes and practice of the communities involved. Nevertheless, there is a lack of data on the community knowledge, attitude and practices on onchocerciasis prevention in the endemic areas of Kano State, northern Nigeria. This research study adopted a comparative cross-sectional design where data were collected from 172 respondents in two riverine communities: Massu (Sumaila LGA) and Tiga (Bebeji LGA), which are located in Kano South, Nigeria. Structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to gather relevant data, which were then analysed using frequencies, percentages and chi-square tests. About 78.4% of the respondents were males who were primarily farmers (50.0%) and only underwent Quranic education (54.4%). Although most participants (88.4%) knew about blackflies, only 26.2% knew that onchocerciasis resulted from bites by blackflies. Significantly higher proportion of respondents in Massu (86.4%) knew about the disease as opposed to Tiga (49.5%) (χ² = 26.43, p < 0.001). Although 93.0% of respondents in both communities expressed a willingness to participate in future ivermectin treatment, the actual uptake of ivermectin was markedly lower in Tiga (13.2%) than in Massu (70.4%) (χ² = 58.33, p < 0.001). This disparity indicates that the low treatment coverage was primarily attributable to shortcomings in the implementation of Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI), such as irregular drug distribution and inadequate programme coverage, rather than a lack of community acceptance. Consequently, enhancing CDTI logistics, increasing the number of Community Drug Distributors (CDDs), and strengthening community health education are critical measures for advancing the elimination of onchocerciasis in Kano State.
BT - Dutse Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences (DUJOPAS) DA - 09/2026 DO - 10.4314/dujopas.v12i3c.25 IS - 3c LA - ENG M3 - Article N2 -Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, which is a neglected tropical disease caused by Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by Simulium damnosum blackflies, continues to be an important public health problem in Nigeria, affecting about 33 million people. The key approach in managing this condition is the use of Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI), and the effectiveness of this approach mainly depends on knowledge levels, attitudes and practice of the communities involved. Nevertheless, there is a lack of data on the community knowledge, attitude and practices on onchocerciasis prevention in the endemic areas of Kano State, northern Nigeria. This research study adopted a comparative cross-sectional design where data were collected from 172 respondents in two riverine communities: Massu (Sumaila LGA) and Tiga (Bebeji LGA), which are located in Kano South, Nigeria. Structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to gather relevant data, which were then analysed using frequencies, percentages and chi-square tests. About 78.4% of the respondents were males who were primarily farmers (50.0%) and only underwent Quranic education (54.4%). Although most participants (88.4%) knew about blackflies, only 26.2% knew that onchocerciasis resulted from bites by blackflies. Significantly higher proportion of respondents in Massu (86.4%) knew about the disease as opposed to Tiga (49.5%) (χ² = 26.43, p < 0.001). Although 93.0% of respondents in both communities expressed a willingness to participate in future ivermectin treatment, the actual uptake of ivermectin was markedly lower in Tiga (13.2%) than in Massu (70.4%) (χ² = 58.33, p < 0.001). This disparity indicates that the low treatment coverage was primarily attributable to shortcomings in the implementation of Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI), such as irregular drug distribution and inadequate programme coverage, rather than a lack of community acceptance. Consequently, enhancing CDTI logistics, increasing the number of Community Drug Distributors (CDDs), and strengthening community health education are critical measures for advancing the elimination of onchocerciasis in Kano State.
PB - African Journals Online PY - 2026 SP - 270 EP - 279 T2 - Dutse Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences (DUJOPAS) TI - A Comparative Assessment of Onchocerciasis Knowledge and Ivermectin Uptake in Two Communities of Kano State, Nigeria UR - https://www.ajol.info/index.php/dujopas/article/view/336488/315960 VL - 12 ER -