Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), and acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for mosquito-borne diseases control through sterile mosquito release in Bangkok, Thailand

BackgroundArboviral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika are public health concerns worldwide. Prevention and control of these diseases still depend on controlling Aedes aegypti mosquito vectors. Sterile insect technique (SIT) and incompatible insect technique (IIT) are environmental friendly approaches that show promising impacts. In order to plan an implementation of SIT/IIT technology, the background knowledge, attitude and practice related to these diseases and their mosquito vectors in the targeted communities are needed. Methodology/Principal findingsIn this paper, we conducted the questionnaire surveys on general knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) related to mosquito-borne diseases, mosquito vectors, as well as prevention and control in 400 sampling households in seven communities located in two districts in Bangkok, Thailand. The acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for sterile mosquitoes to be used as an alternative vector control approach was also investigated. Our findings indicated that the surveyed participants had high knowledge on dengue (85.25%) and they were more concerned with the severity of dengue (81%) than chikungunya (42.5%) and Zika (37%). Participants with the ages lower than 35 years old (p = 0.047) and the incomes higher than 5,000 THB (p = 0.016) had more knowledge on mosquito vectors. Moreover, 47% of respondents had positive attitude toward sterile mosquitoes and their application in vector control even though 45.5% of them had never heard about the technology. However, the majority of them were not willing to pay (52%); and if they had to pay, the maximum would be 1-2 THB per sterile mosquito, as most of them expected to receive free service from the government. Conclusions/significanceThe baseline information obtained from this questionnaire survey could be used for planning the sterile mosquito release by public health authorities in Bangkok, Thailand where dengue, chikungunya and Zika were still prevalent. Author summaryA questionnaire survey was conducted in seven communities in Bangkok, Thailand to obtain the baseline information on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) related to mosquito-borne diseases, i.e., dengue, chikungunya and Zika, including mosquito vectors and how to control them. The questionnaire also asked about the acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for sterile mosquitoes used in controlling mosquito populations. Our results showed that, from the total of 400 sampling households, about 85% of participants were familiar with dengue, the mosquito vectors as well as their prevention and control. Furthermore, participants with lower ages and higher incomes had more knowledge on mosquito vectors (p < 0.05). Even though the majority of participants showed positive perception about sterile mosquitoes release in terms of the environment, economic, social and quality of life, but more than half of them were not willing to pay for sterile mosquitoes as they would like to receive them free of charge from the government. In the case that they have to pay, the cost that they could afford was 1-2 THB per sterile mosquito. These findings should be useful for public health authorities in planning to apply the sterile mosquito release as an alternative mosquito control approach in Bangkok, Thailand.