Forest Fevers: traditional treatment of malaria in the southern lowlands of Laos

Elliott, Elizabeth; Chassagne, François; Aubouy, Agnès; Deharo, Eric; Souvanasy, Outhay; Sythamala, Phaiboun; Sydara, Kongmany; Lamxay, Vichith; Manithip, Chantanom; Torres, Juan A.; Bourdy, Geneviève

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2019.112187

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…In addition, villagers often opted for self-treatment and only visited health centres for severe conditions. Studies have reported varied factors that discouraged treatment-seeking behaviours in remote communities, including distance from home to health centre, road conditions, lack of transportation, low economic status and costs from healthcare visits [ 28 ], lack of social support and belonging to an ethnic group (or hill tribe) [ 29 ], unavailability of healthcare providers [ 30 ], and preference for traditional healers to treat fever symptoms [ 31 ]. Improving access to malaria services, as well as healthcare delivery in general, thus entails developing better infrastructure for transportation and communication in these communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest malaria and prospects for anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis among forest goers: findings from a qualitative study in Lao PDR

Jongdeepaisal

Inthasone

Khonputsa

et al. 2022

Malar J

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Background Despite significant decline in malarial incidence and mortality in countries across the Greater Mekong Subregion, the disease remains a public health challenge in the region; transmission continues mainly among people who visit forests in remote areas, often along international borders, where access to primary healthcare is limited. In the absence of effective vector-control measures and limited exposure periods, malaria chemoprophylaxis has been proposed as a strategy to protect forest goers. As a rarely used approach for indigenous populations, questions remain about its feasibility and acceptability. Drawing on in-depth interviews with forest goers and stakeholders, this article examines opportunities and challenges for implementation of anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis for forest goers in Lao PDR. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 forest goers and 15 stakeholders in Savannakhet province, Lao PDR. Interview topics included experience of malaria prevention and health services, and perceptions of prophylaxis as a potential component of malaria elimination strategy. The interviews were transcribed and coded using inductive and deductive approaches for qualitative thematic analysis. Results In ethnically and geographically diverse villages, awareness of malaria risk prompts forest goers to protect themselves, albeit sub-optimally using available preventive measures. Stakeholders highlighted challenges for targeting at-risk populations and approaches to address forest malaria in southern Lao PDR. Among policymakers, choice and cost of anti-malarials, particularly their efficacy and source of funding, were key considerations for the feasibility of malaria prophylaxis. Acceptability of prophylaxis among forest goers was also influenced by the complexity of the regimen, including the number of tablets and timing of doses. Implementation of prophylaxis may be affected by a lack of transportation and communication barriers in remote communities. Conclusion Adding prophylaxis to existing malaria control activities requires strengthening the capacity of local health workers in Lao PDR. Ideally, this would be part of an integrated approach that includes strategies to address the other febrile illnesses that forest goers describe as priority health concerns. The prophylactic regimen also requires careful consideration in terms of effectiveness and simplicity of dosing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest malaria and prospects for anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis among forest goers: findings from a qualitative study in Lao PDR

Jongdeepaisal

Inthasone

Khonputsa

et al. 2022

Malar J

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“…For example, Leguminosae was widely used in traditional medicines in Southeast Asian countries, whereas Asparagiaceae and Orchidaceae were widely used by the Chuanqing people. The reason for this difference was that Leguminosae was widely distributed in tropical flora and available in these countries [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. The area of southwest China populated by the Chuanqing people is a typical karst landform, with the majority of the plants distributed in Asparagaceae and Orchidaceae [45][46][47].…”

Section: Comparison With Chp the Qsg And Southeast Asian Medicinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnobotanical study on herbal market at the Dragon Boat Festival of Chuanqing people in China

Wang

Zhao

Chi

et al. 2021

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Background The Chuanqing people (穿青人) are a linguistic group native to the Guizhou Province of China, with unique culture and rich knowledge of traditional medicinal plants. Herbal market at Dragon Boat Festival (DBF) plays an important role in the inheritance of traditional medicinal knowledge among the Chuanqing people. This study aims to record the profile of medicinal plants of the Chuanqing people, discuss the dilemmas faced by their inheritance, and propose some strategies for passing down information, which is critical for the inheritance and protection of the Chuanqing people’s traditional medical knowledge. Methods Data were collected through key informants and semi-structured interviews and free listing. Collected voucher specimens were identified using by botanical taxonomy method and deposited in the herbarium. Data were analyzed through use-value (UV) and cultural importance index (CI) values. Medicinal plants were compared with the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Results were compared with the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China (ChP), the Quality Standard of Traditional Chinese Medicine and National Medicine in Guizhou Province (QSG), and traditional medicines of Southeast Asian countries. Results A total of 102 species from 53 families and 92 genera were recorded, with Orchidaceae and Asparagaceae (six species each), and Berberidaceae and Asteraceae (five species each) as the predominant families. The whole plant (36%) was the most common medicinal part. Decoction (44%) was the most common preparation method. Seventy-one investigated human ailments were grouped into 12 categories. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (34 mentions) were most frequently mentioned in this study. Moreover, the most frequently used taxon was Hedera sinensis (Tobler) Hand.-Mazz. (UV and CI = 0.29). The Chuanqing people’s medicine was highly similar to ChP and QSG. In comparison with Southeast Asian countries’ traditional medicines, except for the same preparation methods, the similarities in terms of medicinal ingredients, plants, and disease treatment were very low. Conclusions The herbal market at the DBF is an important platform for exchanging knowledge about the Chuanqing people’s traditional medicinal plants. The Chuanqing people’s traditional medicine is facing many challenges to its inheritance and development. To solve these problems, this study highlights the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Chuanqing people, providing basic data for further research and protection of minority medicine.

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“…Leguminosae was widely used in traditional medicines of the Southeast Asian countries, and Asparagiaceae and Orchidaceae were widely used by the Chuanqing. The reason for this difference was that Leguminosae was widely distributed in tropical ora and provided many medicinal species in these countries [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. The living area of Chuanqing people was a typical karst landform, with the most plants distributed in Asparagaceae and Orchidaceae [46][47][48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ethnobotanical study on the Chuanqing People of China based on an herbal market survey at the Dragon Boat Festival

Wang

Zhao

Chi

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: The Chuanqing (穿青人) are an ethnic group native to the Guizhou Province of China, with a unique culture and rich knowledge of traditional medicinal plants. The herbal market at the Dragon Boat Festival (DBF) plays an important role in the inheritance of traditional medicinal knowledge among the Chuanqing. This study aims to record the profile of medicinal plants of the Chuanqing, discuss the dilemmas faced by its inheritance and propose strategies. Such information is important for the inheritance and protection of the Chuanqing’s traditional medical knowledge. Methods: Data were collected through key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews and free listing. The collected voucher specimens were identified and deposited in the herbarium. The medicinal plants were compared with the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results were compared with those of the pharmacopeia of the People's Republic of China (ChP) and the Quality Standard of TCM, and National Medicine in Guizhou Province (QSG) and traditional medicines of Southeast Asian countries. Data were analyzed with use-value (UV) and cultural importance index (CI) values. Results: A total of 102 species from 53 families and 92 genera were recorded, with Orchidaceae and Asparagaceae (6 species each), Berberidaceae and Asteraceae (5 species each) as the predominant families. Whole plant (36%) was the most common medicinal part. Decoction (44%) was the most common preparation method. Seventy-one investigated human ailments were grouped into 12 categories. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (34 mentions) were the most frequently mentioned in this study. Moreover, the most frequently used taxon was Hedera sinensis (Tobler) Hand.-Mazz. (UV and CI=0.29). A total of 9 medicinal plants were recorded in the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Chuanqing’s medicine had high similarity with ChP and QSG. While it had a high similarity in preparation method, and low similarity in medicinal parts, plant families and disease treatments with traditional medicines in Southeast Asian countries.Conclusions: The traditional herbal market at the DBF is an important platform for communicating traditional medicinal plant knowledge of the Chuanqing. There are some differences and connections between the Chuanqing's medicine, Chinese traditional medicines, and traditional medicines in Southeast Asian countries. The Chuanqing's traditional medicine is facing many difficulties in the inheritance and development. More scientific research and policies planning are needed to solve it. This study highlights the traditional medicinal knowledge of the Chuanqing, providing basic data for further research on and protection of minority medicine.

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Forest Fevers: traditional treatment of malaria in the southern lowlands of Laos

Cited by 12 publications

References 106 publications

Forest malaria and prospects for anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis among forest goers: findings from a qualitative study in Lao PDR

Forest malaria and prospects for anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis among forest goers: findings from a qualitative study in Lao PDR

Ethnobotanical study on herbal market at the Dragon Boat Festival of Chuanqing people in China

An ethnobotanical study on the Chuanqing People of China based on an herbal market survey at the Dragon Boat Festival

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