Malaria in Central Haiti: A hospital-based retrospective study, 1982-1986 and 1988-1991

Abstract

A retrospective study conducted at central Haiti's Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the June 1991-January 1992 period sought to assess the numbers of malaria cases seen at the hospital in 1982-1991, the distribution of cases by age and sex in 1988-1991, and the validity of official reports indicating an overall decline in malaria cases. Review of the hospital's laboratory records (1982-1986, 1988-1991), patient medical records (1989-1991), and patient discharge summary cards (1989-1991) revealed a total of 5 251 malaria cases identified through examination of approximately 65 000 blood smears. The largest numbers of cases were diagnosed in 1982 (1 150) and 1988 (980); the smallest numbers in 1990 (120) and 1991 (317). Peak case incidences occurred yearly in the November-January period, a few months after the rainy season. Of the 838 cases found in the 1989-1991 period, 53 percent occurred in females and 47 percent in males. Relatively high number of cases (averaging 41.1 cases per year of age) were found among children 0-6 years old, with the largest number of cases in any 1-year age group (54 cases) occurring among children 1 year old. (In general, the numbers of cases declined with increasing age.) Eight cases among hospital in-patients ended in malaria-related death, five of these deaths occurring among children 0-6 years old and six involving cerebral malaria (a common complication of P. falciparum infection). Overall, the results of this study support official reports showing a general decline in the number of malaria cases in this region of Haiti between 1982 and 1991

This article will also be published in Spanish in the BOSP. Vol. 116(5), May 1994