Assessment of malaria as a public health problem in and around Arjo Didhessa Sugar Cane Plantation area, Western Ethiopia

Background: Although much progress has been made in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality worldwide in the last decade, nationally malaria remains the third leading cause of death and still considered a major public health problem. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess malaria as a public health problem in and around the sugar cane plantation area of Arjo Didhessa sugar factory, Western Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study supplemented with clinical retrospective data, which included 452 study subjects was recruited and the study period was extended from May 2016 up to November of 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess malaria risk factors and blood samples were received from all study participants and further subjected to Giemsa staining for determination of malaria prevalence. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20. Malaria risk factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression at a significance level of P < 0.05.Results: The overall malaria prevalence was 3.1%; Plasmodium vivax is the main type of malaria parasite. Overnight outdoor sleeping and improper utilization of mosquito bed nets were found to be statistically significant as malaria risk factors in the community. In the retrospective studies of five years, the peak malaria cases (13.84%) were reported in 2013 and the lowest cases (1.24%) in 2017.Conclusions: The figure for malaria witnessed in this area remains higher than the observed national malaria prevalence indicating malaria remains a public health problem. Therefore, we suggest the factory administrators and health care professionals work more on raising awareness to avoid night outdoor sleeping and promote frequent and appropriate utilization of insecticide-treated nets in line with regular indoor residual spraying.

Assessment of malaria as a public health problem in and around Arjo Didhessa Sugar Cane Plantation area, Western Ethiopia

Background: Although much progress has been made in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality worldwide in the last decade, nationally malaria still remains the third leading cause of death and still considered as major public health problem. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess malaria as a public health problem in and around sugar cane plantation area of Arjo Didhessa sugar factory, Western Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross sectional study supplemented with clinical retrospective data, which included 452 study subjects was recruited and the study period was extended from May 2016 up to November of 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess malaria risk factors and blood samples were received from all study participants and further subjected to Giemsa staining for determination of malaria prevalence. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20.Malaria risk factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression at significance level of P < 0.05 . Results: The overall malaria prevalence was 3.1%; Plasmodium vivax being the main type of malaria parasite. Overnight outdoor sleeping and improper utilization of mosquito bed nets were found to be statistically significant as malaria risk factors in the community. In the retrospective studies of five years, the peak malaria cases (13.84%) were reported in 2013 and lowest cases (1.24%) in 2017. Conclusions: The figure of malaria witnessed in this area remains higher than the observed national malaria prevalence indicating malaria is still remains a public health problem.Therefore, we suggest the factory administrators and health care professionals to work more on raising awareness to avoid night outdoor sleeping and effective and appropriate utilization of insecticide treated nets and regular indoor residual spraying. Key words : Arjo Didhessa, malaria, malaria risk factors

Assessment of malaria as a public health problem in and around Arjo Didhessa Sugar Cane Plantation area, Western Ethiopia

Background: Although much progress has been made in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality worldwide in the last decade, nationally malaria still remains the third leading cause of death and still considered as major public health problem. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess malaria as a public health problem in and around sugar cane plantation area of Arjo Didhessa sugar factory, Western Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross sectional study supplemented with clinical retrospective data, which included 452 study subjects was recruited and the study period was extended from May 2016 up to November of 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess malaria risk factors and blood samples were received from all study participants and further subjected to Giemsa staining for determination of malaria prevalence. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20.Malaria risk factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression at significance level of P < 0.05. Results: The overall malaria prevalence was 3.1%; Plasmodium vivax being the main type of malaria parasite. Overnight outdoor sleeping and improper utilization of mosquito bed nets were found to be statistically significant as malaria risk factors in the community. In the retrospective studies of five years, the peak malaria cases (13.84%) were reported in 2013 and lowest cases (1.24%) in 2017. Conclusions: The figure of malaria witnessed in this area remains higher than the observed national malaria prevalence indicating malaria is still remains a public health problem.Therefore, we suggest the factory administrators and health care professionals to work more on raising awareness to avoid night outdoor sleeping and effective and appropriate utilization of insecticide treated nets and regular indoor residual spraying. Key words: Arjo Didhessa, malaria, malaria risk factors

The Epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax Among Adults in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Nationally-Representative, Cross-Sectional Survey

ABSTRACTBackgroundReports of P. vivax infections among Duffy-negative hosts have begun to accumulate throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this growing body of evidence, no nationally representative epidemiological surveys of P. vivax in sub-Saharan Africa nor population genetic analyses to determine the source of these infections have been performed.MethodsTo overcome this critical gap in knowledge, we screened nearly 18,000 adults in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for P. vivax using samples from the 2013-2014 Demographic Health Survey. Infections were identified by quantitative PCR and confirmed with nested-PCR. P. vivax mitochondrial genomes were constructed after short-read sequencing. Risk factors, spatial distributions and population genetic analyses were explored.FindingsOverall, we found a 2.96% (95% CI: 2.28%, 3.65%) prevalence of P. vivax infections across the DRC. Nearly all infections were among Duffy-negative adults (486/489). Infections were not associated with typical malaria risk-factors and demonstrated small-scale heterogeneity in prevalence across space. Mitochondrial genomes suggested that DRC P. vivax is an older clade that shares its most recent common ancestor with South American isolates.InterpretationP. vivax is more prevalent across the DRC than previously believed despite widespread Duffy-negativity. Comparison to global and historical P. vivax sequences suggests that historic DRC P. vivax may have been transported to the New World on the wave of European expansion. Our findings suggest congolese P. vivax is an innocuous threat given its relatively flat distribution across space, lack of malaria risk factors, and potentially ancestral lineage.FundingNational Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust.

An Exploratory Case study of the effect of Ecology on Malaria Risk Factors in Northern Pakistan.

Background: Ecology of an area can greatly affects the population of the vector mosquito species by providing conditions for their breeding, thus affecting the transmission of malaria in an area. Areas having similar climate, but dissimilar ecological conditions may alter the factors of malaria transmission, thus resulting in different control strategies for disease management. Current study implies a cross-sectional approach to investigate different malaria risk factors in two ecologically distinct districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods: Data was collected by using closed-ended questionnaire from 2854 and 1944 randomly selected individuals of District Charsadda and Swabi respectively from December to August. A univariate logistic regression analysis was used to measure the association between history of malaria infection and different possible risk factors.Results: 37.6% of the respondents in Charsadda and 46.5% in Swabi were having history of malaria infection. Plasmodium vivax was found to be the dominant species causing infection in the local population. In district Swabi, factors like windows mesh, drinking water source, irrigated fields, sleeping habits, gender and marital status was found significant (P<0.05) in the transmission of the infection. In district Charsadda, parameters like windows mesh, house made, animals in home, irrigated fields, use of residual sprays, use of repellents, use of bed nets, outdoor night roaming, family history, previous infection and sleeping habits showed significant (P<0.05) relation to malaria infection. Conclusions: This study provides some basic guidelines by identifying the potential risk factors in districts having diverse ecology to design a comprehensive and effective control strategy to reduce malaria disease burden.

Assessment of malaria as a public health problem in and around Arjo Didhessa Sugar Cane Plantation area, Western Ethiopia

Background: Although much progress has been made in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality worldwide in the last decade, malaria still remains the third leading cause of death and still considered as major public health problem. Objectives : The main objective of this study was to assess malaria as a public health problem in and around sugar cane plantation area of Arjo Didhessa sugar factory, Western Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross sectional study supplemented with clinical retrospective data, which included 452 study subjects was employed and the study period extended from May 2016 up to November of 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess malaria risk factors and blood samples were received from all study participants and further subjected to Giemsa staining for determination of malaria prevalence. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 20.Malaria risk factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression at significance level of P < 0.05 . Results: The overall malaria prevalence was 3.1%; Plasmodium vivax being the main type of malaria parasite. Overnight outdoor sleeping and improper utilization of mosquito bed nets were found to be statistically significant as malaria risk factors in the community. In the retrospective studies of five years, the peak malaria cases (13.84%) were reported in 2013 and less cases (1.24%) in 2017. Conclusion: The prevalence of malaria observed in the area is still higher as compared to national prevalence of malaria. Therefore; we recommend further strengthening of malaria prevention and control strategies. Additionally, educative training opportunities must be provided for workers in the plantation area on malaria prevention and control.

Risk factor assessment for clinical malaria among forest-goers in a pre-elimination setting in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam

Background The transition from malaria control to elimination requires understanding and targeting interventions among high-risk populations. In Vietnam, forest-goers are often difficult to test, treat and follow-up for malaria because they are highly mobile. If undiagnosed, forest-goers can maintain parasite reservoirs and contribute to ongoing malaria transmission. Methods A case–control study was conducted to identify malaria risk factors associated with forest-goers in three communes in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. Cases (n = 81) were residents from the study area diagnosed with malaria and known to frequent forest areas. Controls (n = 94) were randomly selected forest-going residents from within the study area with no identified malaria infection. Participants were interviewed face-to-face using a standard questionnaire to identify malaria risk factors. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI for risk factors after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Results Among the cases, malaria infection varied by species: 66.7% were positive for Plasmodium falciparum, 29.6% for Plasmodium vivax, and 3.7% were diagnosed as mixed infection. Cases were less likely than controls to use treated nets (aOR = 0.31; 95% CI 0.12–0.80), work after dark (aOR = 2.93; 95% CI 1.35, 6.34), bath in a stream after dark (aOR = 2.44; 95% CI 1.02–5.88), and collect water after dark (aOR = 1.99; 95% CI 1.02–3.90). Conclusions As Vietnam moves toward malaria elimination, these findings can inform behaviour change communication and malaria prevention strategies, incorporating the risk of after-dark and water-related activities, in this priority and difficult-to-access population group.

Assessment of malaria as a public health problem in and around Arjo Didhessa Sugar Cane Plantation area, Western Ethiopia

Background: Although much progress has been made in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality worldwide in the last decade, malaria still remains the third leading cause of death and still considered as major public health problem. Objectives : The main objective of this study was to assess malaria as a public health problem in and around sugar cane plantation area of Arjo Didhessa sugar factory, Western Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross sectional study supplemented with clinical retrospective data, which included 452 study subjects was employed and the study period extended from May 2016 up to November of 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess malaria risk factors and blood samples were received from all study participants and further subjected to Giemsa staining for determination of malaria prevalence. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 20.Malaria risk factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression at significance level of P < 0.05 . Results: The overall malaria prevalence was 3.1%; Plasmodium vivax being the main type of malaria parasite. Overnight outdoor sleeping and improper utilization of mosquito bed nets were found to be statistically significant as malaria risk factors in the community. In the retrospective studies of five years, the peak malaria cases (13.84%) were reported in 2013 and less cases (1.24%) in 2017. Conclusion: The prevalence of malaria observed in the area is still higher as compared to national prevalence of malaria. Therefore; we recommend further strengthening of malaria prevention and control strategies. Additionally, educative training opportunities must be provided for workers in the plantation area on malaria prevention and control. Key words : Arjo Didhessa, malaria, malaria risk factors