The malaria and typhoid fever burden in the slums of Kolkata, India: data from a prospective community-based study

Abstract

Recent research has indicated that the malaria burden in Asia may have been vastly underestimated. We conducted a prospective community-based study in an impoverished urban site in Kolkata, India, to estimate the burden of malaria and typhoid fever and to identify risk factors for these diseases. In a population of 60452 people, 3605 fever episodes were detected over a 12-month period. The blood films of 93 febrile patients contained Plasmodium (90 P. vivax, 2 P. falciparum and 1 P. malariae). Blood cultures from 95 patients grew Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi. Malaria patients were found to be significantly older (mean age 29 years) compared with patients with typhoid fever (15 years; P<0.001) but had similar clinical features on presentation. Having a household member with malaria, illiteracy, low household income and living in a structure not built of bricks were associated with an increased risk for malaria. Having a household member with typhoid fever and poor hygiene were associated with typhoid fever. A geographic analysis of the spatial distribution of malaria and typhoid fever cases detected high-risk neighbourhoods for each disease. Focal interventions to minimise human-vector contact and improved personal hygiene and targeted vaccination campaigns could help to prevent malaria and typhoid fever in this site.

Antibiotic resistance among Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A in Pakistan (2001-2006)

“…The difference between our study and that from Delhi may well be related to the fact that, in the Delhi study, patients with history of antimicrobial therapy were excluded. The finding of age-related difference in antimicrobial resistance is also surprising given that risk factors for typhoid reportedly include a recent case in the family [35,36]. However, typhoid fever in endemic settings has been linked with high-dose exposure from multiple sources and therefore the possibility of an extra-familial source cannot be excluded in such cases [37].…”

Use of verbal autopsy to determine mortality patterns in an urban slum in Kolkata, India

“…The surveillance was conducted in the context of a cholera and typhoid fever project. 6,7 Methods Study site and census Kolkata, with over 4 million residents, is one of the most populous cities in the world. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is divided into 141 administrative wards.…”

Multidrug-ResistantSalmonella entericaSerovar Paratyphi A Harbors IncHI1 Plasmids Similar to Those Found in Serovar Typhi

“…While endemic enteric fever has been eliminated from most developed nations by improved sanitation (6), enteric fever is still a significant health threat in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and, to a lesser extent, South America (16,34,38,40). Historically, enteric fever has been a target of control programs and vaccines, but antibiotic treatment remains a central pillar of control (13).…”