Malaria Survey in Post-Earthquake Haiti—2010

Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population collaborated with global partners to enhance malaria surveillance in two disaster-affected areas within 3 months of the January 2010 earthquake. Data were collected between March 4 and April 9, 2010 by mobile medical teams. Malaria rapid diagnost...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2012, Vol.86 (1), p.29-31
Main Authors: TOWNES, David, EXISTE, Alexandre, MCMORROW, Meredith, SLUTSKER, Laurence, PATRICK KACHUR, S, CHANG, Michelle, BONCY, Jacques, MAGLOIRE, Roc, VELY, Jean-Francois, AMSALU, Ribka, DE TAVERNIER, Marleen, MUIGAI, James, HOIBAK, Sarah, ALBERT, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Antimalarials - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
Earthquakes
Female
Global Health: Special Focus on Haiti
Haiti - epidemiology
Health Surveys
Human protozoal diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Malaria
Malaria, Falciparum - diagnosis
Malaria, Falciparum - drug therapy
Malaria, Falciparum - epidemiology
Malaria, Falciparum - parasitology
Male
Medical sciences
Microscopy
Middle Aged
Parasitic diseases
Plasmodium falciparum - drug effects
Plasmodium falciparum - isolation & purification
Prevalence
Protozoal diseases
Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
Time Factors
Young Adult
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Summary:Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population collaborated with global partners to enhance malaria surveillance in two disaster-affected areas within 3 months of the January 2010 earthquake. Data were collected between March 4 and April 9, 2010 by mobile medical teams. Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were used for case confirmation. A convenience sample of 1,629 consecutive suspected malaria patients was included. Of these patients, 1,564 (96%) patients had malaria RDTs performed, and 317 (20.3%) patients were positive. Of the 317 case-patients with a positive RDT, 278 (87.7%) received chloroquine, 8 (2.5%) received quinine, and 31 (9.8%) had no antimalarial treatment recorded. Our experience shows that mobile medical teams trained in the use of malaria RDTs had a high rate of testing suspected malaria cases and that the majority of patients with positive RDTs received appropriate antimalarial treatment. Malaria RDTs were useful in the post-disaster setting where logistical and technical constraints limited the use of microscopy.
ISSN:0002-9637
1476-1645
DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0431