Abstract
Objective: To investigate the factors associated with malaria vivax infection in children and adolescents from an endemic area in the Eastern portion of the Brazilian Amazon basin. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in the municipality of Anajas, Brazil, from January 2016 to September 2017. Questionnaires were applied to the relative or the legal tutors of children and adolescents with questions regarding social and economic status, educational degree, knowledge about malaria, and the use of protective measures against mosquito bites. Anthropometric measures were performed in children and adolescents. Results: A total of 58 cases and 61 controls were included in the study. Most of the participants were male, eutrophics, and their relatives presented low educational degrees as well as low social and economic status. The knowledge of malaria was limited, but the percentage of individuals using long-lasting insecticidal nets was high. The presence of peri-domiciliary breeding sites for Anopheles vector was the most critical factor for malaria. Conclusion: The occurrence of malaria was associated with low social and economic status, a low educational degree, the unfamiliarity with malaria and the presence of breeding sites for Anopheles mosquito surrounding individual domiciles.
Highlights
IntroductionIn Brazil, most of the cases (99%) occur in the Brazilian Amazon basin, which presents a non-homogenous transmission among municipalities, and P. vivax accounts for 85% of cases
Malaria by Plasmodium vivax remains a significant public health issue worldwide, with three billion of individuals who are at risk to contract the disease, and approximately 435,000 each year, the majority in children (61%) who are a group at risk to develop severe disease [1]
The participants were included in the study according to the following criteria: Case: children and adolescents aged 2 - 14 years, both genders, with mono-infection by P. vivax diagnosed by microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thick blood films, which were admitted in the study by spontaneous demand after their relatives or legal tutors have searched for the ambulatory of diagnosis and treatment of malaria of the municipality with signs and symptoms suggestive of malaria
Summary
In Brazil, most of the cases (99%) occur in the Brazilian Amazon basin, which presents a non-homogenous transmission among municipalities, and P. vivax accounts for 85% of cases. In a large endemic area with several geographical, social, and economic scenarios such as the Brazilian Amazon basin, the factors associated with malaria differ among municipalities. They are poorly understood in children and adolescents. The present study aims to investigate the factors associated with malaria vivax infection in children and adolescents from an endemic area in the Eastern portion of the Brazilian Amazon basin
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