Poor housing construction associated with increased malaria incidence in a cohort of young Ugandan children.

Abstract

Despite the use of accepted interventions to combat malaria, such as insecticide-treated bed nets and artemisinin-based combination therapy, malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Uganda. We investigated associations between household factors and malaria incidence in a cohort of children living in a highly endemic region of Uganda. Living in a modern house, defined as the use of non-earth floors, non-thatched roofs, and non-mud walls, was associated with approximately half malaria incidence compared with living in a traditional home (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.54, P = 0.001). Other factors found to be associated with a lower incidence of malaria included living in town versus rural setting; sleeping in a room with openings to the outside (windows, eaves, and airbricks); and having an older and more educated primary caregiver. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that improved house construction may be associated with a lower risk of malaria.

• Authors: Katherine Snyman, Florence Mwangwa, Victor Bigira, James Kapisi, Tamara D Clark, Beth Osterbauer, Bryan Greenhouse, Hugh Sturrock, Roly Gosling, Jenny Liu, Grant Dorsey
• Journal: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene (Am J Trop Med Hyg) Vol. 92 Issue 6 Pg. 1207-13 (Jun 2015) ISSN: 1476-1645 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25870429 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Topics

• Child, Preschool
• Construction Materials
• Family Characteristics
• Female
• Housing (standards, statistics & numerical data)
• Humans
• Incidence
• Infant
• Malaria (epidemiology, etiology)
• Male
• Risk Factors
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Uganda (epidemiology)