Impact of frequent rainfall variations on malarial incidence in resource limited urban settings
Abstract
Rise of vector-borne diseases in developing countries is due to unhygienic settlements and haphazard urbanization. Unplanned dwellings around Nullah Lai, a wastewater drain that passes through Rawalpindi and Islamabad, are... [ view full abstract ]
Rise of vector-borne diseases in developing countries is due to unhygienic settlements and haphazard urbanization. Unplanned dwellings around Nullah Lai, a wastewater drain that passes through Rawalpindi and Islamabad, are confronted with several health issues. This study aimed to identify various factors that contribute in malarial spread in different seasons of the year and suggest preventive measures. A questionnaire based survey was conducted in urban areas of Rawalpindi-Islamabad where two distinct seasons, rainy (July-September) and dry (November-January) has varying effect on malarial incidence. Malarial incidence was recorded higher in rainy (59.7%, n=221) than dry season (53.1%, n=211). House distance and malarial occurrence were significantly related to each other (chi-sq=10.3, P<0.05) for rainy season. We predicted the probability of “malarial absence” through binary logistic regression using factors that were potential predictors of disease in urbanization context of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Our results showed that overall improvement in sewerage system can substantially reduce incidence of malaria in both the seasons. About 40% cases could be prevented to occur in rainy season (OR=4.04; 95% CI=1.99–8.21) while good sewerage system in dry season may attribute up to 36% reduction in malaria (OR=3.61; 95% CI=1.64–7.95). Among other preventive measures, use of mosquito repellant sprays in rainy season had significant effect on absence of malaria (OR=2.51, 95% CI=1.34–4.71). However, use of mosquito coils in dry season by local community appeared as an important predictor for increase in malarial absence (OR=2.48, 95% CI=1.32–4.64). To minimize seasonal occurrence of vector-borne diseases in Lai area like dwellings, municipal authorities should take urgent health actions such as environmental hygiene improvement and allocation of equitable financial resources. Since urban sprawl in developing countries is mostly unplanned therefore, existing health inequalities should be addressed on priority to avoid disease incidence in urban settings.
Authors
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Ishtiaq Hussain
(Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad)
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Audil Rashid
(PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi)
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Afshan Naseem
(PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi)
Topic Area
III. Infectious and Communicable Diseases 3.1 Infectious diseases and their relations to c
Session
PS-2 » POSTER SESSION 2 (11:45 - Saturday, 2nd April, TBA)
Paper
Ishtiaq.Abstract.ISUH.2016.docx
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