Falciparum malaria in young children of rural Burkina Faso: comparison of survey data in 1999 with 2009

The study took place in a rural area of north-western Burkina Faso, which was defined as holoendemic in 1999. Clinical and parasitological data were compared in two cohorts of young children of the same age range from eight villages. Surveys took place in June and December of the year 1999 and 2009 respectively.Prevalence of mosquito net use increased from 22% in 1999 to 73% in 2009, with the majority of nets being ITNs in 2009. In 2009, P. falciparum prevalence was significantly lower compared to 1999 (overall reduction of 22.8%).The reduction in malaria prevalence in young children observed between 1999 and 2009 in a rural and formerly malaria holoendemic area of Burkina Faso is likely attributable to the increase in ITN availability and utilization over time.Malaria remains a major cause of global morbidity and mortality, with most of the burden being in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [1,2]. International attention to malaria has been revived in recent years, with the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative coordinating global malaria control and elimination efforts [3]. Consequently and massively supported by various Global Health Initiatives (GHI), malaria control interventions - in particular insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITN) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) - are currently rolled out in SSA on a large scale. However, the impact of these new developments on the malaria burden in the highly endemic areas of SSA continues to be hotly debated [2].Here a systematic comparison of malaria survey data is presented, which were collected in 1999 and in 2009 in cohorts of young children of the same age range, from an endemic area of rural Burkina Faso.Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in the heart of West Africa, is composed of 45 provinces divided into 13 administrative regions. The Kossi Province belongs to the Mouhoun Region and borders the Republic of Mali. Its administrative centre, Nouna town, is located 300 km north-west from Ouagadougou, the capital o