title: Malaria in a rural area of Sierra Leone. I. Initial results.
abstract: Malaria surveys to collect base-line data for an intervention study was carried out in a rural, high rainfall area of West Africa. Methods for the different components of the study are described. A mortality survey, using verbal autopsy questionnaires, established an infant mortality rate of 74/1000 live births/year, a child mortality rate of 25/1000/year and a mortality rate for children under five years of 36/1000/year. The most common causes of death were malaria and malnutrition. The results of two clinical surveys showed that the prevalence of illness in nought to seven-year-olds increased from 30% at the pre-rains survey to 58% at the post-rains survey. The most significant increases were a three-fold increase in the prevalence of upper respiratory infections, whilst skin and eye infections and fever rates doubled. A knowledge, attitudes and practice survey of 210 heads of households or women of child-bearing age revealed that 76% had never had any formal education. Eighty-nine per cent recognized that there was a malaria problem in the area, but only 30% knew that mosquitoes were involved in its transmission, and only half of the respondents were aware that malaria was preventable.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratory, Bo, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barnish
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Maude
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bockarie
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Eggelte
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Greenwood
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ceesay
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D012807:Sierra Leone / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D002738:Chloroquine