Objective : To determine the incidence of malarial parasites in human population of Mastung
and Khuzdar areas of Pakistan.
Patients and Methods: Malarial parasites were identified in the blood slides of suspected
patients of the disease from July, 2004 to June, 2006 in 7852 subjects.
Results : Out of 7852 suspected cases of malaria, 2092 (26.64 %) were found to be positive
for malarial parasite. In Mastung, out of 3644 suspected cases, 896 (24.58 %) were found to be
positive for malarial parasiteswith 52.67 % (472/896) identified as P. vivax and 47.32 % (424/
896) as P. falciparum infection. The highest rate of infections (73.13 %) was recoded in
August while lowest rate of infection (24.27%) was noted in October. In Khuzdar, out of 4208
suspected cases, 1196 (28.42 %) were found to be positive for malarial parasites with 69.89 %
(836/1196) identified as P. vivax. and 30.10 % (360/1196) as P. falciparum infection. The
highest rate of infections (84.84%) was recoded in December while the lowest rate of infection
(56.06%) was noted in October. There was no case of Plasmodium malariae and P. ovale
infection observed in the present study.
Conclusion : An over all prevalence rate of 62.52 % of P. vivax was seen. There is no
association between types of infection and age of subjects. This high prevalence pose a serious
public health threat. (Rawal Med J 2007;32:176-178)
Key words: Malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax.
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