Volume 16, Number 11—November 2010
Research
Genetic Structure of Plasmodium falciparum and Elimination of Malaria, Comoros Archipelago
Table 1
Epidemiologic and sampling characteristics of 5 sites studied for Plasmodium falciparum malaria, Comoros archipelago and Marseille, France
| Characteristic | Grande Comore | Moheli | Anjouan | Mayotte | Marseille |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area, km2 | 1,148 | 290 | 424 | 374 | |
| Total population | 330,000 | 40,000 | 280,000 | 190,000 | 50,000–80,000 |
| No. bites by infected mosquitoes/person* | 10–20/y (up to 200/y) | 10/y (up to 1/night) | No data | Low | None |
| Endemicity*† |
Mesoendemic to hyperendemic |
Mesoendemic to hyperendemic |
Mesoendemic to hyperendemic |
Hypoendemic |
None |
| Total no. reported cases (% confirmed cases), 2006* | 51,148 (34) | 7,866 (27) | 15,408 (19) | 496 (100) | 84 (100) |
| Incidence/1,000 inhabitants, 2006* | 150 | 150 | 50 | 3 | Null |
| % P. falciparum malaria cases,* 2006 |
96 |
96 |
96 |
90 |
97 |
| Period of sampling, 2007 | Apr–May | Apr–May | Apr–May | Entire year | Entire year |
| No. patients sampled, 2007 |
62 |
61 |
63 |
227 |
111 |
| Median age of sampled patients, y (IQR) ‡ | 4 (2–14.8) | 7.5 (2.6–21) | 7 (3.3–18) | 19 (15–25) | 33 (9.8–40) |
| No. sampled patients in site (A) with history of recent arrival from another site (B) | 7 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 111§ |
| Anjouan | 6 | 9 | – | 7 | |
| Grande Comore | – | 8 | 5 | 6 | |
| Mayotte | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | |
| Moheli |
0 |
– |
2 |
0 |
|
| No. randomly genotyped isolates | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
*Data from World Malaria Report 2008 (8) and from various Comorian and French official reports and references published in French, all reviewed by the first author in a recent, unpublished thesis (Rebaudet S. Molecular epidemiology and population genetics study of Plasmodium falciparum in Comoros archipelago. Impacts on malaria control [thesis] [in French]. Marseille (France): Université de la Méditerranée; 2009). Cases for Marseille represent those in persons with history of recent arrival from one of the 4 islands.
†Malaria endemicity levels based on 2–9 years of available parasite prevalence data, according to the World Health Organization classification: hypoendemic, 0–10%; mesoendemic, 11%–50%; hyperendemic, 51%–75%; and holoendemic, >75% (9).
‡IQR, interquartile range.
§Mainly from Grande Comore (S. Rebaudet, pers. comm.).
