Abstract
Malaria is a life-threatening protozoal infection and India has the highest malaria burden in South East Asia. The objective of this communication is to assess the prevalence of malaria infection amongst forest dwelling tribal children under the age of five residing in malaria endemic regions of the Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states of India. A total of 5,801 children attended seven outpatient mobile clinics in 2012. Of them, 2,123 children had a history of fever and were screened for malaria with a Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). About 37% of children had a history of fever. Of them, 34% children were diagnosed with malaria. The majority (66%) of children with a positive RDT had a mixed malaria infection of both Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, followed by single infections of P. falciparum (18.9%) and P. vivax (14.2%). Malaria infection is a major public health concern amongst the tribal children residing in these malaria endemic forest villages. Therefore, region specific sustainable intervention measures need to be initiated for the prevention and control of malaria and malaria related deaths in this region.
Highlights
The World Health Organization reported 219 million cases of malaria with an estimated 660,000 deaths
Keeping in view the magnitude of malaria burden among the forest dwelling tribal population in India, this communication was prepared with the objective to assess the prevalence of malaria among forest dwelling tribal children under the age of five residing in northern Andhra Pradesh and the southern part of Chhattisgarh states
Based on the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) data, the prevalence of malaria was 34.1% among children suffering from fever, and significant differences were observed in prevalence of malaria infection between the mobile clinics (p
Summary
The World Health Organization reported 219 million cases of malaria with an estimated 660,000 deaths. Keeping in view the magnitude of malaria burden among the forest dwelling tribal population in India, this communication was prepared with the objective to assess the prevalence of malaria among forest dwelling tribal children under the age of five residing in northern Andhra Pradesh and the southern part of Chhattisgarh states. This region is a remote hilly and forested area inhabited by various Naxalite (communist guerrilla) groups and there is a constant conflict with local governments leading to security restrictions. About Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) India MSF India’s teams make available basic healthcare, antenatal and postnatal care, vaccinations and treatment for diarrhoea, tuberculosis, and malaria to tribal populations residing in adjoining tribal forest villages of northern part of Andhra Pradesh and southern part of Chhattisgarh states[5]
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