Assessment of water, sanitation, and hygiene practices and associated factors in a Buruli ulcer endemic district in Benin (West Africa)

Background Control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) requires multiple strategic approaches including water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH). Buruli ulcer (BU), one of the 17 NTDs, remains a public health issue in Benin particularly in the district of Lalo. The availability of water as well as good hygiene are important for the management of Buruli ulcer particularly in the area of wound care one of the main component of the treatment of BU lesions. Given the growing importance of WASH in controlling NTDs and in order to assess the baseline for future cross-cutting interventions, we report here on the first study evaluating the level of WASH and associated factors in Lalo, one of the most BU-endemic districts in Benin.