Some socio-demographic factors related to dengue outbreak in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

A through survey was conducted among the city dwellers of Dhaka metropolitan area from September to November 2001 to know about the level of knowledge, attitude and practices concerning dengue, dengue vector mosquito and their breeding grounds. Houses were selected by a systematic sampling method and interviews were carried out with a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaires. A total of 3201 households was visited and interviewed. The study showed that the majority people (99%) knew about dengue and its vector, but they had insufficient knowledge about vector management. Cases were more common in high-income areas than slum areas. About 50% of city dwellers did not take any measures against vector mosquitoes. A large number of them did not know the exact types of Aedes breeding containers. Each family spent about Tk. 233.4 (US $ 3.7) in one month during peak dengue season. City dwellers opinioned that they were willing to allow City Corporation people to check their premises for Aedes breeding, but 33.5% were not willing to pay fine if Aedes breeding was detected.