Assessment of risk perception and subjective norms related to Mpox (monkeypox) among adult males in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Knowledge regarding human monkeypox among a sample of undergraduate and post-graduate students from selected tertiary institutions in Bangladesh: An online-based cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The recent human monkeypox (mpox) outbreak in 2022 has become a serious concern due to its rapid expansion to various non-endemic countries. There is limited information about the knowledge regarding mpox among the Bangladeshi population. Therefore, this study's objectives were to: (i) determine the level of knowledge regarding mpox among undergraduate and post-graduate students in Bangladesh, and (ii) assess the determinants of knowledge regarding mpox among the study sample.

METHODS

An online-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 879 tertiary-level students from selected tertiary institutions (n = 13) in Bangladesh. The structured questionnaire consisted of two parts: (i) socio-demographic information and (ii) an assessment of knowledge regarding mpox. The Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test, and multivariable quantile regression model were employed.

RESULTS

The median age of the study participants was 23 years (IQR: 25-22). Low knowledge of mpox was found among study participants (20.7%, 23.2% and 56.1% had good, moderate and poor knowledge, respectively). The overall median knowledge score for mpox was 11 (IQR: 16-6). The median knowledge score of mpox significantly differed by participants' gender, study major, and academic education about mpox. In the quantile regression analysis, the association between gender and mpox knowledge was observed at the 25th (β = 1.343), 50th (β = 2.00) and 75th (β = 1.59) quantiles with females having more knowledge compared to males. The effects of study group were significant at 25th (β = 1.746), 50th (β = 1.5), 75th (β = 1.361) and 90th (β = 1.248) quantiles. Thus, those in medical or public health programs were likely to have more knowledge about mpox relative to those who were in non-medical related study groups. Students who received information about mpox during their education were more knowledgeable compared to those who had not, with statistical significance occurring at 10th (β = 3.711), 25th (β = 6.656), 50th (β = 5.75), 75th (β = 3.404) and 90th (β = 2.592) quantiles.

CONCLUSION

These findings imply that educational interventions about mpox should consider the gender dynamics and program of study among the students in Bangladesh.

Prediction of potential public health risk of the recent multicountry monkeypox outbreak: An update after the end declaration of global public health emergency

Background and Aims

A double-stranded DNA virus called monkeypox virus (MPV) belonging to the Poxviridae family and Orthopoxvirus genus causes monkeypox (mpox) infection. This virus used to infect only Central, East, and West Africa. However, it has spread to an extent outside Africa recently. The range of MPV outbreaks was so high that on July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). About a year later, the WHO notified the end of a global public health emergency for mpox on May 11, 2023. Here, we aimed to assess the current pathogenicity and potential risk of MPV causing public health emergencies.

Methods

We searched information from published articles available in PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. We used monkeypox, mpox, monkeypox outbreak, and monkeypox virus as keywords during the literature search.

Results

Many new variants of MPV have emerged throughout the world that created PHEIC for mpox. Considering the low lethality and transmission rate, mpox is no longer a global public health threat. In addition, the availability of therapeutic and preventive measures helped the healthcare authorities fight the mpox infection in an efficient manner. In this review, we have portrayed the history and evolution of mpox from past to present and an idea of its future outcomes. Also, we have discussed the symptoms related to mpox and approved antiviral treatment strategies to fight off the infection in this piece. This review also emphasized the preventive guidelines set by the WHO for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to control the outbreak of mpox infection.

Conclusion

We believe this article would give an idea about the potential public health threats of the recent multi-country monkeypox outbreak to the healthcare authorities for taking measures accordingly.

Assessment of risk perception and subjective norms related to Mpox (monkeypox) among adult males in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Background and Aims

Monkeypox (Mpox) has become a concern worldwide after spreading into nonendemic countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this a public health emergency of international concern and recommended to get vaccinated first who are at the highest risk. Risk perception and subjective norms can influence the decision of vaccine uptake. Therefore, we intended to perform a cross-sectional study on the male population in our country to assess their risk perception and subjective norms on Mpox.

Methods

We measured participants' risk perception and subjective norms using Google form. Demographic profile of participants was obtained using a structured questionnaire. We performed a χ 2 test to compare the levels of risk perception and subjective norm perception and multiple logistic regression analysis to determine the association between the study parameters and the sociodemographic profile of the participants.

Results

Among the participants, 93 (23.72%), 288 (73.47%), and 11 (2.81%) had high, medium, and low-risk perceptions, respectively. For subjective norms, we observed 288 (58.16%) participants had a medium, 117 (29.85%) had high, and 47 (11.99%) had low levels of subjective norms, respectively. Most participants possessed medium risk perception (73.47%) and subjective norms (58.16%). Moreover, we observed that moderate risk perception was prevalent in people with body mass index (BMI) level between 18.5 and 25 (73.3%), married (63.5%), low economic background (94.1%), living with a family (77.1%), smokers (68.4%), heterosexuals (99%), people with no/little impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on life (91%). Proportions of people with moderate subjective norms BMI level of 18.5-25 (73.2%), married (60.5%), low economic status (93.9%), rural (58.8%), living with family (77.2%), nonsmokers (71.1%), and people with no/little impact of Covid-19 in their lives (91.2%).

Conclusion

The majority of participants perceived medium risk perception and subjective norms related to Mpox. Furthermore, we observed a significant association between the study parameters and the sociodemographic characteristics of our study participants. We recommend that further longitudinal studies to yield more accurate results.