Individual and household characteristics of persons with Plasmodium falciparum malaria in sites with varying endemicities in Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract Background The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) bears a large share of global malaria burden despite efforts to control and eliminate the disease. More detailed understanding of individual and household level characteristics associated with malaria are needed, as is an understanding o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Malaria Journal
Main Authors: Melchior Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa, Lauren Levitz, Kyaw L. Thwai, Jonathan B. Parr, Varun Goel, Mark Janko, Antoinette Tshefu, Michael Emch, Steven R. Meshnick, Margaret Carrel
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: BMC 2017
Subjects:
Malaria
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Longitudinal study
Surveillance
RDT
PCR
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-017-2110-7
https://doaj.org/article/c695fbbb937644ae9331c535bef47b45
Description
Summary:Abstract Background The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) bears a large share of global malaria burden despite efforts to control and eliminate the disease. More detailed understanding of individual and household level characteristics associated with malaria are needed, as is an understanding of how these characteristics vary spatiotemporally and across different community-level malaria endemicities. An ongoing study in Kinshasa Province is designed to address gaps in prior malaria surveillance in the DRC by monitoring malaria across seasons, age groups and in high and low malaria sites. Across seven sites, 242 households and 1591 individuals are participating in the study. Results of the enrollment questionnaire, rapid diagnostic tests and PCR testing of dried blood spots are presented. Results Overall malaria prevalence in the study cohort is high, 27% by rapid diagnostic test and 31% by polymerase chain reaction, and malaria prevalence is highly varied across very small geographic distances. Malaria prevalence is highest in children aged 6–15. While the majority of households own bed nets, bed net usage is less than 50%. Conclusions The study cohort will provide an understanding of how malaria persists in populations that have varying environmental exposures, varying community-level malaria, and varying access to malaria control efforts.

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