Environmental factors affecting malaria parasite prevalence in rural Bolifamba, South- West Cameroon

The impact of some environmental factors on malaria parasite prevalence was investigated in rural Bolifamba, Cameroon. The study population comprised 1454 subjects aged 0 – 65 years. Malaria parasite prevalence was higher in the rainy (50.1%) than in the dry season (44.2%) with a significant difference (P=0.001) in mean parasite density between seasons. Individuals 15 years (37.4%). Malaria parasite prevalence (P=0.001) and parasite density (P=0.03) were higher in the individuals of wooden plank houses than those of cement brick houses. Inhabitants of houses surrounded by bushes or garbage heaps and swamps or stagnant water showed higher malaria parasite prevalence and densities compared with those from cleaner surroundings. Anopheles gambiae (63.8%) and A. funestus (32.8%) were associated with perennial transmission of malaria. Our data indicates that poor environmental sanitation and housing conditions may be significant risk factors for malaria parasite burden in Bolifamba. African Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 13 (1-2) 2008: pp. 20-2

The influence of seasonal variations on malaria prevalence in Mount Cameroon Region: A review

Malaria is Cameroon's most serious and complex public health problem. Its transmission is usually associated with topography, climate and socio-economic conditions. The problem of the disease is aggravated by changing climate, poverty, and lack of efficient controlling mechanisms. Also, the emergence of new parasite strains, expansion of host range due to human population growth and movement, land use change, increasing vectorial capacity, and deteriorating public health infrastructures contribute to the spread of the disease. Due to climate and ecological diversity, there is apparent variation and instability in the epidemiology of its transmission and prevalence. All age groups are particularly vulnerable to even mild malaria during epidemics. The challenges posed by seasonal changes on malaria prevalence urgently demand re-visiting control measures and policy of urban planning. This paper reviews previous studies on seasonal variations and the prevalence of malaria in Mount Cameroon Region. Generally, seasonal changes from these studies are highly linked to malaria prevalence in the region. We also present in this review new measures that need to be taken to harness existing malaria control measures and evade possible malaria epidemics in the region and Cameroon as a whole. We proposed future studies which involve monitoring and modeling the influence of climate change and land use changes on the malariology indices in the Mount Cameroon Region.Keywords: malaria, prevalence, seasonal variationsJOURNAL OF THE CAMEROON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Vol. 11 No. 1 (2013

Dynamics in multiplicity of Plasmodium falciparum infection among children with asymptomatic malaria in central Ghana

Abstract Background The determinants of malaria parasite virulence is not entirely known, but the outcome of malaria infection (asymptomatic or symptomatic) has been associated with carriage of distinct parasite genotypes. Alleles considered important for erythrocyte invasion and selected as candidate targets for malaria vaccine development are increasingly being shown to have distinct characteristics in infection outcomes. Any unique/distinct patterns or alleles linked to infection outcome should be reproducible for a given malaria-cohort regardless of location, time or intervention. This study compared merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2) genotypes from children with asymptomatic malaria at same geographical location, from two time periods. Results As the prevalence and incidence of malaria (measured for other studies) significantly reduced between 2004 (time point one) and 2009 (time point two), MSP2 multiplicity of infections (MOI) also reduced significantly from 2.3 at time point (TP) one to 1.9 at TP two. IC/3D7 genotypes out-numbered FC27 genotypes at both time points. At TP2 however, FC27 allele diversity was more than the IC/3D7 allele diversity. A decrease in the IC/3D7:FC27 genotype proportions from 2:1 at TP1 to 1:1 at TP2, seemed to be driven mainly by a decrease in carriage of IC/3D7 alleles. MOI was higher in the dry season than in the subsequent wet season, but the decrease was not significant at TP2. Conclusion MSP2 MOI was higher in the dry season than in the subsequent wet season, while the carriage of IC/3D7 alleles decreased over this time period. It may be that decreases in transmission are related specifically to the IC/3D7 allelic family. The influence of transmission on MSP2 allele diversity needs to be clearly deciphered in studies which should include the use of sensitive methods for the detection of polymorphic parasite markers for both symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria. Such studies will enable better understanding of associations between allelic variants, MOI, transmission, malaria infection and disease