A cross-sectional study on domestic use of biomass fuel and the prevalence of respiratory illnesses in a rural community in Thaba-Tseka district of Lesotho

The domestic utilization of biomass fuel for purposes such as cooking, space heating, and water heating has been linked to a number of respiratory ailments, particularly when burned inefficiently. However, there is an existing knowledge gap on the impact of this practice on the health of Basotho. This study aims to explore the impact of biomass fuels use on the prevalence of respiratory illnesses among residents of two rural communities in Thaba-Tseka. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was adopted, using a structured questionnaire, to assess the correlation between biomass fuel use and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases. Data were collected from 326 randomly selected individuals aged 18 and above. The major source of fuel energy used was firewood (39.6 %), followed by paraffin (29.1 %) and animal dung (15.6 %). The most prevalent respiratory symptom reported was cough, among 27.6 % of participants (n = 326), followed by sneezing (n = 326, 23.0 %), and fever (n = 326, 17.5 %). The lowest prevalent respiratory disease was pneumonia (0.9 %) while lung cancer was not reported. The reporting of respiratory symptoms and diseases was most prevalent in January. A greater prevalence of cough was reported by participants with a higher level of education (r (5) = 1.746, p = 0.008). More male participants reported to have tuberculosis (7.8 %) compared to females (3 %) (r (1) = 3.809, p = 0.051). Asthma was noted to be more prevalent among high income earners (r (3) = 8.169, p = 0.043) and those reported to have an employment (r (1) = 4.277, p = 0.039). Surprisingly, there was no association between respiratory diseases and symptoms, and the type of domestic fuel used. In the rural communities of Thaba-Tseka, about 4 in 10 Basotho rural communities, relied on firewood for cooking, space heating and water heating. Respiratory symptoms and diseases were observed mostly in the month of January. Several factors, including education level, marital status, gender, and income level, were significantly associated with specific respiratory symptoms and diseases. Targeted public health interventions are urgently needed to mitigate respiratory symptoms and diseases in the rural communities of Lesotho. More focus should be directed to health behavioral change and provision of improved stoves for exposure reduction of biomass emissions.