Epidemiological Patterns And Community-based Study For Early Warning Systems For Malaria Control And Prevention In Hubei And Hainan Provinces, China

Background:Malaria is a life-threatening disease and has been identified as one of the parasitic disease with the greatest impact on morbidity and mortality in the world, contributing to the obstruction of social and economic development in many countries. In China, despite great efforts that have been made to control and eradicated malaria, the disease remains a serious public health problem. The epidemiology of malaria in China is variable and its burden progressively decreases from the south to the north.Objective:Our objective in this study was to describe the epidemiological patterns of the disease and evaluate the effectiveness of community-based interventions for malaria control in selected areas in Hubei and Hainan province, by using interventional studies design for early warning systems for malaria control and prevention. We also identify the technical and operational feasibility for malaria elimination, since China has set the target for eliminating the disease.Methods:We performed a comprehensive investigation of not(?)ied malaria cases using scientific techniques related on malaria morbidity and mortality risks defined through epidemiological studies. Community-based interventional studies for early warning systems for malaria control and prevention was performed. According to the level of endemicity of the areas, this particular study was carried out in rural communities in Hubei and Hainan provinces. Consistent surveys questionnaires were designed to gather information from a cross-sectional study of the population. The contents included general demographic characteristics, malaria basic knowledge and personal protection, environment and behavior. Potential factors related to health behavior and some outcome variables were adjusted and statistically analyzed.Results:Attempts have been made to improve the reliability of this approach that take into account the sensitivity and specificity of the technique and combine epidemiological, geographic, and demographic data. Overall malaria incidence rates throughout China continue to decrease and have fallen to the level at which national malaria programmes can shift their focus from control to elimination. However, although great efforts have been made to control malaria, there is some uncertainty of the real burden because the disease covers a wide range of continuum from asymptomatic infection to the severe acute illness or death.Results of effective interventional studies indicated that different patterns of malaria behavior were found in the general population. Gender, age, length of residence time in the areas, and health seeking behaviors was found to be statistically significant predictors of health behaviors (P<0.001). Plasmodium vivax represents the major vector and responsible for more than 80% of the cases though falciparum malaria exists at very low level. There were significant difference in the perception and personal protection of malaria within respondents (P<0.001). The use of preventatives methods was relatively high in the general population. However, le number of pregnant women viewing malaria preventative treatment was very low.Conclusion:Malaria in China has shown substantial lasting declines linked to scale-up of specific interventions. Public health campaigns through iterative actions should be maintained in the region to strengthen the awareness of the population for malaria prevention and control.Innovations:This study has improved considerable the perception and practices of population pertaining to malaria prevention. We demonstrated how interventions lead to intended positive behavior and health outcomes. We also demonstrated that it is of use of public health officials dealing with both malaria and others types of diseases in China and we carried out model that provides scientific basis for the future evaluation of intervention.