Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Abstract Background Malaria is highly endemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the limits and intensity of transmission within the country are unknown. It is important to discern these patterns as well as the drivers which may underlie them in order for effective prevention measures to...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cec31b60a8104cdc8e7af60f01027588 2023-05-15T15:12:57+02:00 Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo Tshefu Antoinette K Linke Andrew M Meshnick Steven R Taylor Steve M Messina Jane P Atua Benjamin Mwandagalirwa Kashamuka Emch Michael 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-161 https://doaj.org/article/cec31b60a8104cdc8e7af60f01027588 EN eng BMC http://www.malariajournal.com/content/10/1/161 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-10-161 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/cec31b60a8104cdc8e7af60f01027588 Malaria Journal, Vol 10, Iss 1, p 161 (2011) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-161 2022-12-31T04:46:46Z Abstract Background Malaria is highly endemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the limits and intensity of transmission within the country are unknown. It is important to discern these patterns as well as the drivers which may underlie them in order for effective prevention measures to be carried out. Methods By applying high-throughput PCR analyses on leftover dried blood spots from the 2007 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for the DRC, prevalence estimates were generated and ecological drivers of malaria were explored using spatial statistical analyses and multilevel modelling. Results Of the 7,746 respondents, 2268 (29.3%) were parasitaemic; prevalence ranged from 0-82% within geographically-defined survey clusters. Regional variation in these rates was mapped using the inverse-distance weighting spatial interpolation technique. Males were more likely to be parasitaemic than older people or females (p < 0.0001), while wealthier people were at a lower risk (p < 0.001). Increased community use of bed nets (p = 0.001) and community wealth (p < 0.05) were protective against malaria at the community level but not at the individual level. Paradoxically, the number of battle events since 1994 surrounding one's community was negatively associated with malaria risk (p < 0.0001). Conclusions This research demonstrates the feasibility of using population-based behavioural and molecular surveillance in conjunction with DHS data and geographic methods to study endemic infectious diseases. This study provides the most accurate population-based estimates to date of where illness from malaria occurs in the DRC and what factors contribute to the estimated spatial patterns. This study suggests that spatial information and analyses can enable the DRC government to focus its control efforts against malaria. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 10 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Tshefu Antoinette K Linke Andrew M Meshnick Steven R Taylor Steve M Messina Jane P Atua Benjamin Mwandagalirwa Kashamuka Emch Michael Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background Malaria is highly endemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the limits and intensity of transmission within the country are unknown. It is important to discern these patterns as well as the drivers which may underlie them in order for effective prevention measures to be carried out. Methods By applying high-throughput PCR analyses on leftover dried blood spots from the 2007 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for the DRC, prevalence estimates were generated and ecological drivers of malaria were explored using spatial statistical analyses and multilevel modelling. Results Of the 7,746 respondents, 2268 (29.3%) were parasitaemic; prevalence ranged from 0-82% within geographically-defined survey clusters. Regional variation in these rates was mapped using the inverse-distance weighting spatial interpolation technique. Males were more likely to be parasitaemic than older people or females (p < 0.0001), while wealthier people were at a lower risk (p < 0.001). Increased community use of bed nets (p = 0.001) and community wealth (p < 0.05) were protective against malaria at the community level but not at the individual level. Paradoxically, the number of battle events since 1994 surrounding one's community was negatively associated with malaria risk (p < 0.0001). Conclusions This research demonstrates the feasibility of using population-based behavioural and molecular surveillance in conjunction with DHS data and geographic methods to study endemic infectious diseases. This study provides the most accurate population-based estimates to date of where illness from malaria occurs in the DRC and what factors contribute to the estimated spatial patterns. This study suggests that spatial information and analyses can enable the DRC government to focus its control efforts against malaria. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tshefu Antoinette K Linke Andrew M Meshnick Steven R Taylor Steve M Messina Jane P Atua Benjamin Mwandagalirwa Kashamuka Emch Michael |
author_facet |
Tshefu Antoinette K Linke Andrew M Meshnick Steven R Taylor Steve M Messina Jane P Atua Benjamin Mwandagalirwa Kashamuka Emch Michael |
author_sort |
Tshefu Antoinette K |
title |
Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
title_short |
Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
title_full |
Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
title_fullStr |
Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the Democratic Republic of Congo |
title_sort |
population, behavioural and environmental drivers of malaria prevalence in the democratic republic of congo |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-161 https://doaj.org/article/cec31b60a8104cdc8e7af60f01027588 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 10, Iss 1, p 161 (2011) |
op_relation |
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/10/1/161 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-10-161 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/cec31b60a8104cdc8e7af60f01027588 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-161 |
container_title |
Malaria Journal |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766343558932987904 |