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"Social and environmental malaria risk factors in urban areas of Ouagadougou..."
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This is the forum where you can discuss the article "Social and environmental malaria risk factors in urban areas of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso" by Baragatti, Fournet, Henry, assi, Ouedraogo, Rogier and Salem.
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Baragatti’s study appears unique because it not only looks at the prevalence of malaria within an urban setting, but additionally the prevalence of exposure to malaria (if I’m understanding this correctly), the intensity of malaria infectious in positive children, and presence of antibodies. Very multi-dimensional.
I agree with the author/authors when they state that urban epidemiology in Africa is often overlooked by researchers who turn their eyes to rural populations. This article does a good job portraying how urban epidemiology is very complex and in it’s complexity, very interesting to look at. Studies like Baragatti’s should be used to encourage more studies in the urban sectors of Africa.
The wide range of bed net use provokes a question: why are some communities are using nets in 14% of the households while other are using them up to 35? (by the way, that’s no where near the supposed 80% coverage that is suggested to eradicate malaria). I’m curious what is the underlying reason behind this? Are the wealthier/ more educated communities purchasing nets? Or are there bed nets distributors closer in proximity? Or do some communities have access to bed nets but don’t believe they are in danger and thus, don’t use them? I’ll look into this further and get another post up when I have a better idea.
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