No One Is Leaving This Time: Appraisal of Awareness and Knowledge of Port Health Officers on International Health Regulation IHR (2005)

BackgroundHistorically, ships have played an important role in transmitting infectious diseases around the world. The spread of cholera pandemics in the 19th century was thought to be linked to trade routes and facilitated by merchant shipping. The international maritime traffic of people and goods has often contributed to the spread of pathogens affecting public health. ObjectivesTo assess level of awareness and knowledge of international Health regulation (IHR 2005) content among port health officer MethodsThe study design was descriptive cross-sectional evaluation, questionnaires were used to capture the respondents knowledge, awareness and sanitary condition of ship in accordance with (IHR 2005) ResultsOn awareness and knowledge, Majority of the respondent (77.1 %) demonstrate good awareness of the IHR (2005), while 22.9% had not and some even testified of hearing the said document for the first time. Despite the fact that majority of respondent were aware but only 24.6% of them can actually demonstrate good knowledge of IHR (2005) and its intent to protect and prevent spread of disease along the international route. ConclusionThere is need to improve the knowledge of port health officers by expand training and guidance on application of the IHRs to frontline officer at point of entries. Also ensure more thorough inspection and avoid influence of ship agent during inspection of ship.