Risk factor of plasmodium knowlesi infection in Sabah Borneo Malaysia, 2020: A population-based case-control study.

Abraham Zefong Chin,Azman Atil,Richard Avoi,Khamisah Awang Lukman,Mohammad Saffree Jeffree,Syed Sharizman Syed Abdul Rahim,Kamruddin Ahmed,Mohd Yusof Ibrahim,Luzia Helena Carvalho

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0257104

Abraham Zefong Chin, Azman Atil + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257104

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Abstract

BackgroundIn the Malaysian state of Sabah, P. knowlesi notifications increased from 2% (59/2,741) of total malaria notifications in 2004 to 98% (2030/2,078) in 2017. There was a gap regarding P. knowlesi acquisition risk factors related to practice specifically in working age group. The main objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for acquiring P. knowlesi infection in Sabah among the working age group.Methods and methodsThis retrospective population-based case-control study was conducted in Ranau district to assess sociodemographic, behavioural and medical history risk factors using a pretested questionnaire. The data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23. Bivariate analysis was conducted using binary logistic regression whereas multivariate analysis was conducted using multivariable logistic regression. We set a statistical significance at p-value less than or equal to 0.05.ResultsA total of 266 cases and 532 controls were included in the study. Male gender (AOR = 2.71; 95% CI: 1.63–4.50), spending overnight in forest (AOR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.20–3.06), not using mosquito repellent (AOR = 2.49; 95% CI: 1.36–4.56) and history of previous malaria infection (AOR = 49.34; 95% CI: 39.09–78.32) were found to be independent predictors of P. knowlesi infection.ConclusionsThis study showed the need to strengthen the strategies in preventing and controlling P. knowlesi infection specifically in changing the practice of spending overnight in forest and increasing the usage of personal mosquito repellent.

Highlights

In the latest World Malaria Report 2020, an estimated 229 million malaria cases occurred worldwide in 2019 compared to 238 million patients in 2010 [1]
Male gender (AOR = 2.71; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.63–4.50), spending overnight in forest (AOR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.20–3.06), not using mosquito repellent (AOR = 2.49; 95% CI: 1.36–4.56) and history of previous malaria infection (AOR = 49.34; 95% CI: 39.09–78.32) were found to be independent predictors of P. knowlesi infection
This study showed the need to strengthen the strategies in preventing and controlling P. knowlesi infection in changing the practice of spending overnight in forest and increasing the usage of personal mosquito repellent

Summary

Introduction

In the latest World Malaria Report 2020, an estimated 229 million malaria cases occurred worldwide in 2019 compared to 238 million patients in 2010 [1]. In 2017, Malaysia reported a total of 500 cases (local and imported) of the human type of malaria, down substantially from 6141 cases in 2010 [2]. Malaria transmission in Malaysia is mainly in Sabah and Sarawak, two states located on the island of Borneo, where a significant proportion of the population is at risk of the disease. In the state of Sabah, P. knowlesi notifications increased from 2% (59/2,741) of total malaria notifications in 2004 to 98% (2030/2,078) in 2017 [3]. In the Malaysian state of Sabah, P. knowlesi notifications increased from 2% (59/2,741) of total malaria notifications in 2004 to 98% (2030/2,078) in 2017. The main objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for acquiring P. knowlesi infection in Sabah among the working age group

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