Piloting the promotion of bamboo skirt barriers to prevent Nipah virus transmission through date palm sap in Bangladesh

Authors: Nazmun Nahar, Utpal Kumar Mondal, M. Jahangir Hossain, M. Salah Uddin Khan, Rebeca Sultana, Emily S. Gurley, Stephen P. Luby

Year: 2014

Journal: Glob Health Promot

DOI: 10.1177/1757975914528249

Summary

The study explores the effectiveness of promoting bamboo skirt preparation and use among sap harvesters in Bangladesh to prevent Nipah virus transmission through date palm sap.

Key Findings

83% in higher-intensity interventions and 65% in lower-intensity interventions prepared and used a bamboo or other material skirt at least once after intervention.
15% of gachhis consistently used skirts throughout the sap collection season.

Methodology

Study Type: Observational
Sample Size: 280 person-hours in total
Geographic Focus: Two villages for higher-intensity intervention and two other villages for lower-intensity intervention, Bangladesh
Time Period: November 2008 to March 2009

Topics

Epidemiology, Virology

Relevance

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of bamboo skirts in preventing Nipah virus transmission and suggests future efforts should focus on developing a low-cost behavior change intervention.

Source

View the entire paper: File:Nihms739860.pdf