RESUMEN
In October 1995 the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Haiti surveyed 42 health facilities for the prevalence and distribution of malaria infection. They examined 1,803 peripheral blood smears from patients with suspected malaria; the overall slide positivity rate was 4.0% (range, 0.0% to 14.3%). The rate was lowest among 1- to 4-year-old children (1.6%) and highest among persons aged 15 and older (5.5%). Clinical and microscopic diagnoses of malaria were unreliable; the overall sensitivity of microscopic diagnosis was 83.6%, specificity was 88.6%, and the predictive value of a positive slide was 22.2%. Microscopic diagnoses need to be improved, and adequate surveillance must be reestablished to identify areas where transmission is most intense. The generally low level of malaria is encouraging and suggests that intensified control efforts targeted to the areas of highest prevalence could further diminish the effect of malaria in Haiti.
Asunto(s)
Malaria/epidemiología , Parasitemia , Adolescente , Adulto , Animales , Preescolar , Culicidae , Vectores de Enfermedades , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales , Femenino , Haití/epidemiología , Humanos , Lactante , Malaria/sangre , Malaria/parasitología , Masculino , Microscopía , PrevalenciaRESUMEN
Ultra-low volume applications of d-allethrin and d-phenothrin could possibly reduce populations of Anopheles albimanus when used in conjunction with residual spraying of fenitrothion. The experiments were carried out in Les Cayes, Haiti.
Asunto(s)
Aletrinas , Anopheles , Insecticidas , Control de Mosquitos/métodos , Piretrinas , Animales , Haití , Humanos , Insectos Vectores , Malaria/prevención & control , Malaria/transmisiónRESUMEN
Measurement of blood cholinesterase activity and of the urinary metabolites of fenitrothion (p-nitrocresol) and malathion (monocarboxylic acid) was used to assess the exposure to these insecticides of workers in the Haitian malaria control programme and of residents in the sprayed houses. Cholinesterase activity was significantly reduced at the end of the working week in 3 out of 28 fenitrothion workers. Urinary levels of p-nitrocresol (PNC) in the spraymen ranged from 2.2 to 25.2 mg/l. In fenitrothion workers who had no direct contact with spraying (weighers and supervisors), the cholinesterase activity remained >/= 75% of the normal control value, and the urinary PNC levels were relatively low. Urinary malathion monocarboxylic acid (MCA) levels at the end of the working week ranged between 1.1 and 5.3 mg/l in workers using malathion and their blood cholinesterase activity remained essentially normal. In both groups of workers the cholinesterase levels improved and the urinary excretion of metabolites decreased after 2 days of rest from the spraying operations. In the residents of the sprayed houses, low concentrations of PNC and MCA were detected in the urine 1 day after spraying and measurable but reduced levels were still present after 7 days. In all these cases the cholinesterase activity remained >/= 75% of the normal control value.