Malaria infestation in foreign immigrants residing Larestan township in 2003 - 2004

Introduction: Malaria is still one of the important health problems in tropical countries with annual large number of morbidity and mortality in world population. The hot and dry southern area of Iran, accommodating numerous emigrants including Afghanis and Pakistanis, is considered a high risk region in the area. The aim of this survey was detecting cases in Larestan, Fars province. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 1257 cases were selected via cluster sampling from foreign emigrants residing outskirts of Larestan. Blood samples were collected from finger tips and blood smears stained with Giemsa. A questionnaire was filled simultaneously recording demographic status of people, signs of malaria disease, history of diagnosis and treatment, time of entering the country and the region. SPSS software and Chi-square test were used for data analysis. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Infection rate of malaria was 6.3%. Among 405 (32.2%) Iranians, 27 (6.7%) people were infected and 378 (93.3%) were noninfected. Chi-square test showed that malaria infection rate in these 2 groups was not significantly different. But this test was significant (P<0.01) in newcomer Afghans (entrance time less than 3 months). Conclusion: Considering abundancy of Anopheles mosquitos in hot regions of southern Iran and short migration of patients in the area, controlling boundaries on entrance and also activating healthcare centers in high risk areas for malaria infection, is highly recommended