Abstract
Introduction
Malaria is a communicable disease and public health concern worldwide. The prevalence of malaria is consistently high in all endemic countries, including Cambodia. Although the country has made progress toward malaria elimination in recent years with the rapid decline of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax (PV) malaria remains a dominant species in the country, and poses challenges in eliminating PV malaria. This study aimed to describe the burden of PV malaria and mixed infection, and associated risk factors with complete radical cure treatment among residents in Kampong Speu Province in 2022.
Methods
The data were taken from the routine Malaria Information System database of the National Malaria Control Programme, with a total of 764 patients who were positive for PV & mixed infections in 2022 in Kampong Speu Province. We used an Excel spreadsheet for data validation and coding by removing all variables that were not relevant to the study and then transferred the data to Stata V14 for analysis. We used the chi-square test to assess the initial relationships between independent variables (age, sex, population mobility, seasonality, and completed radical cure treatment for PV malaria and mixed infection. Multivariate logistic regression was then conducted to identify the predictors of radical cure treatment.
Results
Of the total 764 patients, the mean age was 26.1 years (SD=11.2), and the prevalence of PV malaria and mixed infection was 0.08%. The prevalence of PV and mixed infections were mostly among men (87.2%) who were forest goers and those aged 15-49 years (84.9%). Of the total number of PV and mixed infection patients, 24.2% completed radical cure treatment for 14 days. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the mobile population (AOR=2.56, 95% CI: 1.18-5.55) and rainy season (AOR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.20-0.85) were predictors of PV and mixed infections in patients who completed radical cure treatment.
Conclusion
The prevalence of PV and mixed infection cases was 0.08%, mostly among men (87.24%) who were forest goers and aged 15-49 years (84.95%). The completeness of the radical cure treatment for PV malaria and mixed infection was still somewhat low (24.2%). Seasonality and mobility were found to be risk factors associated with radical cure treatment. Therefore, the program should pay attention to the mobile population and rainy season. Other factors associated with a complete radical cure should be considered. The national program should review and update how to improve radical cure treatment in Cambodia.