Changes in the burden of malaria following scale up of malaria control interventions in Mutasa District, Zimbabwe

Malaria Journal

Research

Peter R Mason¹  William J Moss²  Sungano Mharakurwa³  Philip E Thuma³  Susan L Mutambu⁴  Joseph Mberikunashe⁵ 

[1] Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Nicoz Diamond House, Samora Machel Ave, P.O. Box CY1753, Harare, Zimbabwe;College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. box A 178, Avondale Harare, Zimbabwe;Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, 21205, Baltimore, MD, USA;Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, 21205, Baltimore, MD, USA;Macha Research Trust, P.O. Box 630166, Namwala Road, Choma, Zambia;National Institute of Health Research, P.O. Box 573, Harare, Zimbabwe;National Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Harare, Zimbabwe;

关键词: Malaria;    Epidemiology;    Transmission;    Control;    Prevalence;    Zimbabwe;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1475-2875-12-223

 received in 2013-03-04, accepted in 2013-06-24,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTo better understand trends in the burden of malaria and their temporal relationship to control activities, a survey was conducted to assess reported cases of malaria and malaria control activities in Mutasa District, Zimbabwe.MethodsData on reported malaria cases were abstracted from available records at all three district hospitals, three rural hospitals and 25 rural health clinics in Mutasa District from 2003 to 2011.ResultsMalaria control interventions were scaled up through the support of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and The President’s Malaria Initiative. The recommended first-line treatment regimen changed from chloroquine or a combination of chloroquine plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine to artemisinin-based combination therapy, the latter adopted by 70%, 95% and 100% of health clinics by 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. Diagnostic capacity improved, with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) available in all health clinics by 2008. Vector control consisted of indoor residual spraying and distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets. The number of reported malaria cases initially increased from levels in 2003 to a peak in 2008 but then declined 39% from 2008 to 2010. The proportion of suspected cases of malaria in older children and adults remained high, ranging from 75% to 80%. From 2008 to 2010, the number of RDT positive cases of malaria decreased 35% but the decrease was greater for children younger than five years of age (60%) compared to older children and adults (26%).ConclusionsThe burden of malaria in Mutasa District decreased following the scale up of malaria control interventions. However, the persistent high number of cases in older children and adults highlights the need for strategies to identify locally effective control measures that target all age groups.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Mharakurwa et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.