title: [Knowledge, attitudes, and practices about Carrión's disease in rural Ancash, Peru].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices about Carrión's disease (bartonellosis) in rural communities with a history of epidemic outbreaks.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in the communities of Huaripampa, Orcosh, and Opayaco (Ancash, Peru) in July 2010, to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices about Carrión's disease. Interviewees were aged >18 years and had resided in the community for at least one year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 276 residents were surveyed; 36.6% were men, and 72.5% had not heard of Carrión's disease. Of those familiar with it, most (38.7%) said that it spreads through bites, and 26% did not know how it spreads. Regarding actions to take if Carrión's disease develops, 69.3% of respondents said they would go to a health center and over half reported having recommended preventive practices to relatives or acquaintances in the past.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Even though these three communities have a history of Carrión's disease, their inhabitants did not demonstrate adequate knowledge, attitudes, or practices for preventing it. In view of this, and given that this illness has cyclical outbreaks, it is imperative to design and implement a program to educate residents of these communities-focusing on the role of habits and customs-about how to prevent Carrión's disease, as well as the region's other main endemic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Llerena Luna
authors.forename: Maggie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schweig Groisman
authors.forename: César Augusto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Ugarte-Gil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D012423:Rural Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult