title: Housing conditions and Plasmodium falciparum infection: protective effect of iron-sheet roofed houses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Identification and better understanding of potential risk factors for malaria are important for targeted and cost-effective health interventions. Housing conditions have been suggested as one of the potential risk factors. This study aims to further investigate this risk factor, and is focused on the effect of the type of roof on Plasmodium falciparum infection among children below five years in the North West of Burkina Faso.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study design, 661 children aged six to 60 months were randomly selected from three rural and one semi-urban site at the end of the rainy season (November 2003). The children were screened for fever and tested for Plasmodium falciparum infection. In addition, data on bed net use and house characteristics was collected from the household were each child lived. Using adjusted odds ratios, children living in house roofed with iron-sheet were compared with those in house with mud or grass roof.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall P. falciparum infection prevalence was 22.8 % with a significant variation between (Chi-square, p < 0.0001). The prevalence in Cissé (33.3 %) and Goni (30.6 %) were twice times more than in Nouna (15.2 %) and Kodougou (13.2 %). After adjusting for age, sex, use of bed net and housing conditions, children living in houses with mud roofs had significantly higher risk of getting P. falciparum infection compared to those living in iron-sheet roofed houses (Odds Ratio 2.6; 95% Confidence Interval, 1.4-4.7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that house characteristics should be taken into consideration when designing health intervention against P. falciparum infection and particular attention should be paid to children living in houses with mud roofs.
authors.affiliation: Nouna Health Research Center (CRSN), PO Box 02, Nouna, Burkina Faso, Germany. yazome.ye@urz.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Yazoumé
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yé
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoshen
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.forename: Simboro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Séraphin
authors.forename: Issouf
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Traoré
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sauerborn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002050:Burkina Faso / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007501:Iron; D016015:Logistic Models; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D007501:Iron