%0 Journal Article
%T Malaria or kalimbe: how to choose?
%A Bernard Carme
%J Malaria Journal
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2875-8-280
%X The preservation of cultural practices is a fundamental, valid and attainable goal. However, whether ancestral customs should still be practised is brought into question when they go against hygiene education and disease prevention. Indeed, the introduction of hygiene and disease prevention measures is major factor contributing to the process of acculturation. In most cases, traditional customs are considered undesirable. For example, the prevention of neonatal tetanus requires umbilical cord asepsis, which is incompatible with Angolan traditional plasters made out of charcoal, palm oil and plant leaves [1]. However, more complex or delicate situations may arise.In the Amazon, a region of endemic malaria, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, people wearing a Kalimbe (a traditional Amerindian loincloth, figure 1) are more prone to insect bites than subjects wearing more protective clothing, and are therefore more exposed to the risk of vector-borne infectious diseases. This may seem obvious but evidence is still needed for a rigorous epidemiological investigation.A recent observational study identified several factors that increased the risk of malaria in Amerindian children in French Guiana. The study was conducted in 2006 on children 0-5 years old living in the village of Camopi (Wayampi and Emerillon Amerindians) on the eastern border of French Guiana (Oyapock region). It was based on medical, environmental and behavioural predictive factors for malaria, using the Kaplan Meier method and Cox modelling [2].Cox modelling identified five variables linked to a first attack of malaria (table 1). Clearing vegetation around the home was strongly correlated with a lower risk of contracting malaria, after adjusting for confounding factors. Also, residents of homes located more than 20 meters away from the river were at lower risk than those living less than 20 meters away. Over-crowding (children living in homes occupied by more than 6 people were at greater risk) continued t
%U http://www.malariajournal.com/content/8/1/280