Association between domesticated animal ownership and Plasmodium falciparum parasite prevalence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a national cross-sectional study.
Lancet Microbe
; 4(7): e516-e523, 2023 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37269868
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Domesticated animal ownership is an understudied aspect of the human environment that influences mosquito biting behaviour and malaria transmission, and is a key part of national economies and livelihoods in malaria-endemic regions. In this study, we aimed to understand differences in Plasmodium falciparum prevalence by ownership status of common domesticated animals in DR Congo, where 12% of the world's malaria cases occur and anthropophilic Anopheles gambiae vectors predominate.METHODS:
In this cross-sectional study, we used survey data from individuals aged 15-59 years in the most recent (2013-14) DR Congo Demographic and Health Survey and previously performed Plasmodium quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to estimate P falciparum prevalence differences by household ownership of cattle; chickens; donkeys, horses, or mules; ducks; goats; sheep; and pigs. We used directed acyclic graphs to consider confounding by age, gender, wealth, modern housing, treated bednet use, agricultural land ownership, province, and rural location.FINDINGS:
Of 17 701 participants who had qPCR results and covariate data, 8917 (50·4%) of whom owned a domesticated animal, we observed large differences in malaria prevalence across types of animals owned in both crude and adjusted models. Household chicken ownership was associated with 3·9 (95% CI 0·6 to 7·1) more P falciparum infections per 100 people, whereas cattle ownership was associated with 9·6 (-15·8 to -3·5) fewer P falciparum infections per 100 people, even after accounting for bednet use, wealth, and housing structure.INTERPRETATION:
Our finding of a protective association conferred by cattle ownership suggests that zooprophylaxis interventions might have a role in DR Congo, possibly by drawing An gambiae feeding away from humans. Studies of animal husbandry practices and associated mosquito behaviours could reveal opportunities for new malaria interventions.FUNDING:
The National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. TRANSLATIONS For the French and Lingala translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Parasitos
/
Malária
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
/
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article