%0 Journal Article
%T Cross-sectional survey of malaria prevalence in tsunami-affected districts of Aceh Province, Indonesia
%A David Muriuki
%A Sigrid Hahn
%A Braden Hexom
%A Richard Allan
%J International Journal of Emergency Medicine
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1865-1380-5-11
%X The Mentor Initiative conducted community-based malaria prevalence surveys in 2005 and 2006 in five districts along the tsunami-affected western coastline. A total of 11,763 individuals in 3,771 households were tested. The overall slide positivity rate in 2005 and 2006 for all Plasmodium species was 2.1% (n = 252, 95% CI 1.9%-2.4%). Slide positivity rates ranged from 0 to 55% among villages. Overall, 57% of the 252 cases were infected with P. falciparum (n = 144, 95% CI 51.0%-63.3%), and 40.1% were infected with P. vivax (n = 101, 95% CI 34.0%-46.1%), with 0.03% (n = 7, 95% CI 0.8%-4.8%) being mixed infections. Males were significantly more likely to be affected than females (2.8% vs 1.5%, p < 0.01). Infection was more common in those over the age of 5 (2.3% vs. 0.6%, p < 0.01).Local prevalence data are needed to design effective community-based malaria control programs, as endemicity varies greatly within districts. Certain villages were found to be hyperendemic, with slide positivity rates far higher than average in Indonesia. There is a need for ongoing malaria surveillance in Aceh Province to monitor prevention and treatment efforts.Malaria is endemic throughout much of Indonesia. The Indonesian government reported a countrywide malaria prevalence of 850 per 100,000 in 2001 [1]. The World Health Organization's (WHO) 2008 World Malaria Report stated that 37% of Indonesia's population lived in a high transmission area (¡Ý 1 case/1,000), 14% lived in a low transmission area (0-1 cases/1,000), and 50% lived in a malaria-free area [2]. Endemicity tends to be higher on the more heavily forested outer islands. Approximately 46% of malaria infections in Indonesia are due to Plasmodium falciparum [3].Sumatra, one of Indonesia's outer islands, was severely affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, with much of the destruction located in the northern Aceh Province. Aceh Province had been quite isolated prior to the tsunami because of a long-standing separatist conflict, an
%U http://www.intjem.com/content/5/1/11