Abstract
BackgroundMalaria is one of the leading causes of sickness and death in the developing world, causing more than a million deaths and around 250 million new cases annually worldwide. The aim of this comprehensive survey was to provide information on malaria indicators at household level in high-risk malaria areas in Iran.MethodsIn a cluster randomized cross-sectional survey data were collected from 5,456 households in both rural and urban areas of 20 malaria-affected districts of Iran. All the fieldwork was done by trained interviewers and a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised baseline characteristics of the study population, the knowledge of people about different aspects of malaria (such as clinical symptoms, transmission and prevention) and their practice to prevent illness (such as using mosquito nets, spraying houses). The data were analysed and descriptive statistics (i.e. frequencies, percentages) were used to summarize the results.ResultsThe results of this survey showed that 20% (95% CI: 17.36 - 22.24) of households owned at least one mosquito net, whether treated or untreated. Consequently, the use of mosquito nets was considerably low among both children under age five [5.90% (95% CI: 5.14 - 6.66)] and pregnant women [5.70% (95% CI: 3.07 - 8.33)]. Moreover, less than 10% of households reported that the interior walls of their dwelling had been sprayed in the previous year [8.70% (95% CI: 6.09 - 11.31)]. Data also suggest that 63.8% of the participants recognized fever as a sign of malaria, 56.4% reported that mosquito bites cause malaria and about 35% of participants mentioned that the use of mosquito nets could prevent malaria.ConclusionFindings from this study indicate that low access to treated nets along with low understanding of the role of nets in malaria prevention are the main barriers to utilization of bed nets. Therefore, the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets should be encouraged through health education on the importance of the use along with increasing access to it.
Highlights
Malaria is one of the leading causes of sickness and death in the developing world, causing more than a million deaths and around 250 million new cases annually worldwide
Study population The south-eastern provinces of Iran including 60% of the total population of Sistan & Baluchestan, the whole population of Hormozgan and 30% of the total population of Kerman provinces are considered as malaria endemic regions in Iran
The percentage of households with at least one mosquito net was substantially higher in rural areas compared to the urban areas [25.2; 95% CI: 23.8 - 26.6%] vs. [5%; 95% CI: 3.90 - 6.10]
Summary
Malaria is one of the leading causes of sickness and death in the developing world, causing more than a million deaths and around 250 million new cases annually worldwide. The aim of this comprehensive survey was to provide information on malaria indicators at household level in high-risk malaria areas in Iran. The south-eastern provinces of Iran (Sistan & Baluchestan, Hormozgan and the tropical part of Kerman) are still considered as malaria-endemic regions, accounting for around 95% of all malaria cases in the country [4,5,6]
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