Malaria Prevalence in Endemic Districts of Bangladesh

Abstract

BackgroundFollowing the 1971 ban of DDT in Bangladesh, malaria cases have increased steadily. Malaria persists as a major health problem in the thirteen south-eastern and north-eastern districts of Bangladesh. At present the national malaria control program, largely supported by the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), provides interventions including advocacy at community level, Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) distribution, introduction of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) and combination therapy with Coartem. It is imperative, therefore, that baseline data on malaria prevalence and other malaria indicators are collected to assess the effectiveness of the interventions and rationalize the prevention and control efforts. The objective of this study was to obtain this baseline on the prevalence of malaria and bed net use in the thirteen malaria endemic districts of Bangladesh.Methods and Principal FindingsIn 2007, BRAC and ICDDR,B carried out a malaria prevalence survey in thirteen malaria endemic districts of Bangladesh. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used and 9750 blood samples were collected. Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) were used for the diagnosis of malaria. The weighted average malaria prevalence in the thirteen endemic districts was 3.97%. In five south-eastern districts weighted average malaria prevalence rate was 6.00% and in the eight north-eastern districts weighted average malaria prevalence rate was (0.40%). The highest malaria prevalence was observed in Khagrachari district. The majority of the cases (90.18%) were P. falciparum infections. Malaria morbidity rates in five south-eastern districts was 2.94%. In eight north-eastern districts, morbidity was 0.07%.Conclusion and SignificanceBangladesh has hypoendemic malaria with P. falciparum the dominant parasite species. The malaria situation in the five north-eastern districts of Bangladesh in particular warrants urgent attention. Detailed maps of the baseline malaria prevalence and summaries of the data collected are provided along with the survey results in full, in a supplemental information

Indigenous Plasmodium ovale Malaria in Bangladesh

“…[5][6][7][8] Recent surveillance studies based on the diagnosis with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) indicate P. falciparum as the dominant species in malariaendemic districts of Bangladesh with a country-wide prevalence of 3.58% (compared with only 0.21% for P. vivax ). 9 The existence of infections with P. malariae with a prevalence of 1% in Bangladesh was first reported from a study conducted in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. 10 Both P. ovale and P. malariae are typically found at very low prevalence in Southeast Asia.…”

Mapping Malaria Risk in Bangladesh Using Bayesian Geostatistical Models

“…24 To help guide the program, a comprehensive malaria survey was conducted in malaria-endemic areas in Bangladesh in 2007. 25 The aim of this present study was to produce accurate, validated maps of predicted Plasmodium falciparum prevalence for 2-to 10-year-old children ( Pf PR [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] ) in the endemic areas of Bangladesh and identify high-risk populations at a precision useful for national and sub-national level control priority settings. The applicability of the methods and the implications of the results are discussed in the context of Bangladesh's malaria-control program, which faces challenges of highrisk areas in remote locations and the spread of multi-drugresistant P. falciparum .…”

“…Malaria survey data. Data analyzed had been collected during a 2007 malaria-prevalence survey across the malaria-endemic thanas (fourth administrative unit) in Bangladesh 25 ( Figure 1 ). The endemic thanas lies within 13 of 64 districts (third administrative unit) in Bangladesh and represents approximately 10% of the country's population.…”

“…Based on existing knowledge of malaria prevalence in the country, the survey was designed using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique more fully described in Haque and others. 25 Blood samples from 9,750 people (0-92 years of age) were tested, with diagnosis based on the results of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). The average Plasmodium prevalence was 3.97%, with 90% of cases being P. falciparum .…”

“…The average Plasmodium prevalence was 3.97%, with 90% of cases being P. falciparum . 25 The 9,750 individuals could be geo-located to 354 villages. Abstract.…”