Malaria Associated Factors in Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India: a Case- Control Study

Objective: In 2007 the Rajasthan state of India reported 55,000 malaria cases and 46 deaths caused by malaria. District Jodhpur is the gateway to the Thar Desert in Western Rajasthan. Here malaria is endemic. Between 2002 and 2006 the slide positivity rate ranged between 0.56% and 2.29 % in Jodhpur. The present study aimed to identify factors associated with malaria in Jodhpur. Methods: An age and gender matched 1:2 case-control study was conducted at three primary health centres in the block Banar of Jodhpur. We recruited prospectively 42 microscopically confirmed cases of malaria and 84 nonfever patients as controls. Information was collected by means of a pre-tested questionnaire after consent was given by the participant. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results were presented as odds-ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis revealed that cases were 4.9 times more likely compared to controls to report a history of travel within previous month (95% CI 1.3, 17.9; p=0.017), were 11.8 times more likely than controls to report a history of malaria in a family member during the previous month (95% CI 1.1, 124.4; p= 0.041) and were 4.9 times more likely to report the plant Prosopis juliflora within 1 km radius of home (95% CI 1.0, 24.0; p=0.0496). Conclusions: Households with a history of frequent travelling and malaria in family, and monitoring Prosopis juliflora should be given priority during routine screening and treatment under the National Malaria Programme.