Volume 11, Number 8—August 2005
Dispatch
Malaria and Irrigated Crops, Accra, Ghana
Eveline Klinkenberg*†, P.J. McCall*, Ian M. Hastings*, Michael D. Wilson‡, Felix P. Amerasinghe§, and Martin J. Donnelly*
Table 1
Summary of variables measured for children with and without malaria parasites, with results of univariate (Pearson chi-square or t) tests*
| Variables | Plasmodium-positive blood slide (n = 261) | Plasmodium-negative blood slide (n = 1,496) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Hb, g/dL (SD) | 10.17 (1.62) | 10.94 (1.42) | <0.001 |
| Hb <8 g/dL, % | 11.3 (29/257) | 3.3 (49/1,481) | <0.001 |
| Mean age, months (SD) | 36.44 (16.03) | 32.92 (17.19) | <0.001 |
| Mean socioeconomic score† (SD) | 1.42 (0.99) | 1.74 (0.98) | <0·001 |
| Male (%) | 123 (47.1) | 739 (49.4) | 0.498 |
| Travel to village‡ (%) | 17 (6.5) | 93 (6.2) | 0.855 |
| Taken malaria medication in last 2 wk§ (%) | 63 (24.1) | 344 (23.0) | 0.686 |
| History of fever§ (%) | 64 (24.5) | 293 (19.6) | 0.067 |
| HH with reporting bed net use (%) | 89 (34.1) | 499 (33.4) | 0.814 |
| HH who spray weekly¶ (%) | 71 (27.2) | 435 (29.1) | 0.537 |
| HH with netting at windows/doors (%) | 208 (79.7) | 1,282 (85.8) | 0.012 |
| HH without ceiling (%) | 77 (29.8) | 382 (25.6) | 0.147 |
*Hb, hemoglobin; HH, household.
†Composite measure of socioeconomic status used was the asset factor score of the World Bank for Ghana (http://www.worldbank.com/hnp).
‡Persons who had traveled to a rural (potentially malarious) area in the previous 3 weeks.
§In the last 48 hours, as reported by the caregiver.
¶Proprietary brands of insecticide aerosols.
