Knowledge of, attitudes toward, and preventive practices relating to cholera and oral cholera vaccine among urban high-risk groups: findings of a cross-sectional study in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Tasnuva Wahed, Sheikh Shah Tanvir Kaukab, Nirod Chandra Saha, Iqbal Ansary Khan, Farhana Khanam, Fahima Chowdhury, Amit Saha, Ashraful Islam Khan, Ashraf Uddin Siddik, Alejandro Cravioto, Firdausi Qadri, Jasim Uddin

In endemic countries such as Bangladesh, consequences of cholera place an enormous financial and social burden on patients and their families. Cholera vaccines not only provide health benefits to susceptible populations but also have effects on the earning capabilities and financial stability of the family. Community-based research and evaluations are necessary to understand perceptions about and practices of the community relating to cholera and oral cholera vaccines. This may help identify the ways in which such vaccines may be successfully introduced, and other preventive measures can be implemented. The present study assessed the knowledge of, attitudes toward, and preventive practices relating to cholera and oral cholera vaccine among an urban population residing in a high cholera-prone setting in Dhaka, Bangladesh.