Strong Association Between House Characteristics and Malaria Vectors in Sri Lanka

Konradsen, Flemming; Amerasinghe, Priyanie H.; Hoek, Wim van der; Amerasinghe, Felix P.; Perera, Devika; Piyaratne, Maldeniya

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2003.68.177

Cited by 73 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…(Girls and women in Yemen -a predominantly Muslim country -are expected to keep their legs and arms covered.) Poorly constructed housing and the wearing of clothes that leave most of each arm and leg exposed have been previously identified as significant risk factors for malaria in studies in Yemen (AlTaiar et al, 2006) and Sri Lanka (Konradsen et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human malaria in the highlands of Yemen

Al-Mekhlafi

Mahdy

et al. 2011

Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology

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, a cross-sectional study of human malaria was carried out in four governorates of Yemen, two (Taiz and Hodiedah) representing the country's highlands and the others (Dhamar and Raymah) the country's coastal plains/foothills. The main aims were to determine the prevalences of Plasmodium infection among 455 febrile patients presenting for care at participating health facilities and to investigate the potential risk factors for such infection.Malarial infection was detected in 78 (17.1%) of the investigated patients and was more likely to be detected among the febrile patients from the highlands than among those presenting in the coastal plains/foothills (22.6% v.13.9%; x 2 510.102; P50.018). Binary logistic-regression models identified low household income [odds ratio (OR)513.52; 95% confidence interval (CI)52.62-69.67; P50.002], living in a household with access to a water pump (OR54.18; CI51.60-10.96; P50.004) and living in a household near a stream (OR54.43; CI51.35-14.56; P50.014) as significant risk factors for malarial infection in the highlands. Low household income was the only significant risk factor identified for such infection in the coastal plains and foothills (OR58.20; CI51.80-37.45; P50.007).It is unclear why febrile patients in the highlands of Yemen are much more likely to be found to have malarial infection than their counterparts from the coastal plains and foothills. Although it is possible that malarial transmission is relatively intense in the highlands, it seems more likely that, compared with those who live at lower altitudes, those who live in the highlands are less immune to malaria, and therefore more likely to develop febrile illness following malarial infection. Whatever the cause of the symptomatic malarial infection commonly found in the highlands of Yemen, it is a matter of serious concern that should be addressed in the national strategy to control malaria.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human malaria in the highlands of Yemen

Al-Mekhlafi

Mahdy

et al. 2011

Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology

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“…Several studies in Africa and Asia have found signifi cantly higher densities of the malaria vector, the Anopheles mosquitoes, in the types of houses that poorer families tend to live in, that is, those with open eaves and windows, with walls of mud rather than brick, with a roof of thatch rather than tile or metal, and without a ceiling. 1,36,41,47,55,73 House location is also a risk factor: higher mosquito densities have been found in houses near to breeding sites 61 and in houses around the periphery of villages, where the poorest families tend to live. 57 Summing up, children from poor households are at consistently higher risk of being exposed to inadequate water and sanitation, crowding, and indoor pollution than are children from wealthy families.…”

Section: Differential Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic inequities in the health and nutrition of children in low/middle income countries

et al. 2010

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OBJECTIVE:To describe the effects of social inequities on the health and nutrition of children in low and middle income countries. METHODS:We reviewed existing data on socioeconomic disparities withincountries relative to the use of services, nutritional status, morbidity, and mortality. A conceptual framework including fi ve major hierarchical categories affecting inequities was adopted: socioeconomic context and position, differential exposure, differential vulnerability, differential health outcomes, and differential consequences. The search of the PubMed database since 1990 identifi ed 244 articles related to the theme. Results were also analyzed from almost 100 recent national surveys, including Demographic Health Surveys and the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. RESULTS:Children from poor families are more likely, relative to those from better-off families, to be exposed to pathogenic agents; once they are exposed, they are more likely to become ill because of their lower resistance and lower coverage with preventive interventions. Once they become ill, they are less likely to have access to health services and the quality of these services is likely to be lower, with less access to life-saving treatments. As a consequence, children from poor family have higher mortality rates and are more likely to be undernourished. CONCLUSIONS:Except for child obesity and inadequate breastfeeding practices, all the other adverse conditions analyzed were more prevalent in children from less well-off families. Careful documentation of the multiple levels of determination of socioeconomic inequities in child health is essential for understanding the nature of this problem and for establishing interventions that can reduce these differences.

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“…4,5,[8][9][10][11] Several studies classify housing structures into quality groupings according to the composition of the construction materials have found poor house quality to be associated with greater presence of mosquitoes in the home and higher malaria incidence. 12,13 We recently completed a randomized control trial of malaria chemoprevention in a cohort of 600 children from different households followed from 6 months to 2 years of age in a rural area of Uganda where malaria is highly endemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study from Sri Lanka identified poor housing construction-defined as lacking brick walls and a roof of either tiles, corrugated iron, or asbestosas being associated with a higher vector density. 12 A similar study from Sri Lanka concluded that living in the worst type of house construction (mud or thatched walls and thatched roofs) was associated with a higher incidence of malaria compared with those living in houses with completed brick and plaster walls and tiled roofs. 13 In a larger study of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria conducted in Tanzania, high-quality housing based on an index of dwelling characteristics was associated with a lower incidence of malaria and vector density.…”

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confidence: 96%

Poor Housing Construction Associated with Increased Malaria Incidence in a Cohort of Young Ugandan Children

Snyman¹,

Mwangwa²,

Bigira³

et al. 2015

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Despite the use of accepted interventions to combat malaria, such as insecticide-treated bed nets and artemisinin-based combination therapy, malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Uganda. We investigated associations between household factors and malaria incidence in a cohort of children living in a highly endemic region of Uganda. Living in a modern house, defined as the use of non-earth floors, non-thatched roofs, and non-mud walls, was associated with approximately half malaria incidence compared with living in a traditional home (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.54, P = 0.001). Other factors found to be associated with a lower incidence of malaria included living in town versus rural setting; sleeping in a room with openings to the outside (windows, eaves, and airbricks); and having an older and more educated primary caregiver. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that improved house construction may be associated with a lower risk of malaria.

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Strong Association Between House Characteristics and Malaria Vectors in Sri Lanka

Cited by 73 publications

References 10 publications

Human malaria in the highlands of Yemen

Human malaria in the highlands of Yemen

Socioeconomic inequities in the health and nutrition of children in low/middle income countries

Poor Housing Construction Associated with Increased Malaria Incidence in a Cohort of Young Ugandan Children

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