Is malaria illness among young children a cause or a consequence of low socioeconomic status? evidence from the united Republic of Tanzania

Background: Malaria is commonly considered a disease of the poor, but there is very little evidence of a possible two-way causality in the association between malaria and poverty. Until now, limitations to examine that dual relationship were the availability of representative data on confirmed malaria cases, the use of a good proxy for poverty, and accounting for endogeneity in regression models. Methods: A simultaneous equation model was estimated with nationally representative data for Tanzania that included malaria parasite testing with RDTs for young children (six-59 months), and accounted for environmental variables assembled with the aid of GIS. A wealth index based on assets, access to utilities/infrastructure, and housing characteristics was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Model estimation was done with instrumental variables regression. Results: Results show that households with a child who tested positive for malaria at the time of the survey had a wealth index that was, on average, 1.9 units lower (p-value < 0.001), and that an increase in the wealth index did not reveal significant effects on malaria. Conclusion: If malaria is indeed a cause of poverty, as the findings of this study suggest, then malaria control activities, and particularly the current efforts to eliminate/eradicate malaria, are much more than just a public health policy, but also a poverty alleviation strategy. However, if poverty has no causal effect on malaria, then poverty alleviation policies should not be advertised as having the potential additional effect of reducing the prevalence of malaria.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Springer and can be found at: http://link.springer.com/journal/11032Keywords: Malaria, Poverty, Conceptual framework malaria-poverty causalit

Silent circulation of Chikungunya virus among pregnant women and newborns in the Western Brazilian Amazon before the first outbreak of chikungunya fever

The prevalence of immunity to Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in pregnant women and newborns in the Western Brazilian Amazon was assessed at a time when previous studies did not report chikungunya fever in the area. In 435 asymptomatic pregnant women and 642 healthy unrelated newborns, the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies to CHIKV were determined by a commercial ELISA. All participants were negative to IgM anti-CHIKV. Anti-CHIKV IgG was identified in 41 (9.4%) pregnant women and 66 (10.3%) newborns. The presence of anti-CHIKV IgG was positively associated with the lowest socioeconomic status in pregnant women (OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.15-5.62, p=0.021) and in the newborns’ mothers (OR 5.10, 95% CI 2.15-12.09, p&lt; 0.001). Anti-CHIKV IgG was also associated with maternal age in both, the pregnant women (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.11, p=0.037) and the newborns’mothers (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.12, p=0.001). Pregnancy outcomes in which the mother or the newborn was anti-CHIKV IgG positive proceeded normally. Negative CHIKV serology was associated with being positive for DENV antibodies and having had malaria during pregnancy. These findings showed that there was already a silent circulation of CHIKV in this Amazon region before the first outbreak of chikungunya fever. Furthermore, seropositivity for CHIKV was surprisingly frequent (10%) in both, pregnant women and newborns, affecting mainly low-income women

Meio ambiente e saúde: metodologia para análise espacial da ocorrência de malária em projetos de assentamento Medio ambiente y salud: metodología para análisis espacial de la ocurrencia de malaria en proyectos de asentamiento Environment and Health: a methodological approach for spatial assessment of malaria transmission in colonization projects in the Brazilian Amazon

A transmissão de malária em projetos de assentamento na Amazônia, definida como malária de fronteira, é resultado de um intrincado processo envolvendo fatores biológicos, ecológicos, socioeconômicos e comportamentais, apresentando uma transição temporal de altas a baixas taxas ao longo de aproximadamente oito anos. Como resultado, um dos grandes desafios é a compreensão desse processo, através da identificação das variáveis determinantes da transmissão, considerando-se dimensões temporais e espaciais. Neste artigo é apresentada uma abordagem metodológica que caracteriza perfis de risco de malária em projetos de assentamento, a partir de uma análise multidisciplinar. Composta de três etapas, a abordagem combina análise espacial, geoestatística e modelos de Grade of Membership. Os resultados ressaltam a importância de medidas de controle diferenciadas de acordo com o estágio do projeto de assentamento (implementação recente ou antiga) e o nível de transmissão em cada localidade.La transmisión de malaria en proyectos de asentamiento en la Amazonia, definida como malaria de frontera, es el resultado de un intrincado proceso, involucrando factores biológicos, ecológicos, socioeconómicos y comportamentales, presentando una transición temporal de altas a bajas tasas a lo largo de aproximadamente ocho años. Como resultado, uno de los grandes desafíos es la comprensión de ese proceso, a través de la identificación de las variables determinantes de la transmisión, habiéndose considerado dimensiones temporales y espaciales. En este artículo es presentado un abordaje metodológico que caracteriza perfiles de riesgo de malaria en proyectos de asentamiento, a partir de un análisis multidisciplinario. Compuesto de tres etapas, el abordaje combina análisis espacial, geoestadística y modelos de Grade of Membership. Los resultados resaltan la importancia de medidas de control diferenciadas, de acuerdo a la etapa del proyecto de asentamiento (implementación reciente o antigua) y al nivel de transmisión en cada localidad.Malaria at colonization sites in the Brazilian Amazon is defined as frontier malaria, a complex phenomenon including biological, ecological, socioeconomic, and behavioral issues. It follows a specific temporal transition cycle lasting approximately eight years, oscillating from extremely high rates of transmission to lower and stable ones. A broader understanding of this phenomenon that would account for its spatial and temporal idiosyncrasies is a major challenge. In this article we present a methodological approach that describes malaria risk profiles based on a multidisciplinary analysis. The approach combines spatial analysis, geostatistical tools, and fuzzy-set models. Results highlight the need for spatially and temporally targeted interventions for mitigating the spread of this disease

Population density by ward and major roads in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2006.

<p>Ward populations in 2006 were projected by the National Bureau of Statistics using data from the 2002 Census.</p

Cholera incidence in Dar es Salaam, 2006.

<p>Legend categories were determined by natural breaks.</p