Malaria Journal

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Longitudinal study of urban malaria in a cohort of Ugandan children: description of study site, census and recruitment

Jennifer C Davis1, Tamara D Clark1, Sarah K Kemble1, Nalugwa Talemwa2, Denise Njama-Meya2, Sarah G Staedke1 and Grant Dorsey1*

Author Affiliations

1 Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

2 Makerere University Medical School, Kampala, Uganda

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Malaria Journal 2006, 5:18 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-5-18

Published: 21 March 2006

Abstract

Background

Studies of malaria in well-defined cohorts offer important data about the epidemiology of this complex disease, but few have been done in urban African populations. To generate a sampling frame for a longitudinal study of malaria incidence and treatment in Kampala, Uganda, a census, mapping and survey project was conducted.

Methods

All households in a geographically defined area were enumerated and mapped. Probability sampling was used to recruit a representative sample of children and collect baseline descriptive data for future longitudinal studies.

Results

16,172 residents living in 4931 households in a densely-populated community (18,824 persons/km2) were enumerated. A total of 582 households were approached with at least one child less than 10 years of age in order to recruit 601 children living in 322 households. At enrollment, 19% were parasitaemic, 24% were anaemic, 43% used bednets, and 6% used insecticide-treated nets. Low G6PD activity (OR = 0.33, P = 0.009) and bednet use (OR = 0.64, P = 0.045) were associated with a decreased risk of parasitaemia. Increasing age (OR = 0.62 for each year, P < 0.001) and bednet use (OR = 0.58, P = 0.02) were associated with a decreased risk of anaemia

Conclusion

Detailed surveys of target populations in urban Africa can provide valuable descriptive data and provide a sampling frame for recruitment of representative cohorts for longitudinal studies. Plans to use a multi-disciplinary approach to improve the understanding of the distribution and determinants of malaria incidence and response to therapy in this population are discussed.