Prevalence of malaria and economic loss in two major iron ore mines in Sundargarh district, Orissa
Yadav, R.S.; Ghosh, S.K.; Chand, S.K.; Kumar, A.
Indian Journal of Malariology 28(2): 105-113
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0367-8326 PMID: 1810746 Document Number: 383908
A cross-sectional study of malaria prevalence was undertaken in May 1989 in the settlements of Kalta and Barsuan iron ore mines in a hilly area of Sundargarh District. Surveys of febrile patients revealed positive slide diagnosis in 33.9% and 34.8% in Kalta and Barsuan, respectively. Children up to 9 years of age were affected most and in the age group 2-9 years, 37.3% had enlarged spleens. Plasmodium falciparum was the most prevalent species (in 47 of 66 positive cases), followed by P. vivax (in 16) and P. malariae (in 1). There were 2 cases of mixed infection. The results of a mass blood survey revealed that 23.5% and 13.8% of all slides collected in Kalta and Barsuan were malaria positive, respectively. Six cases of mixed infection were recorded. The vectors, Anopheles fluviatilis and A. culicifacies were present in high numbers. The economic losses in the mining industry due to malaria are discussed. A study of the malaria situation in a population of settlements adjacent to open-cast mining operations in the northwest of Orissa State, India, was undertaken in May 1989, following a review of hospital and dispensary records. A point prevalence survey and a randomized mass blood survey were also carried out. From the information obtained from these sources, it was shown that the miners and their families are at high risk of developing malaria, cases being due predominantly to Plasmodium falciparum, then to P. vivax and occasionally to P. malariae. The malaria vectors Anopheles culicifacies and An. fluviatilis were caught in human dwellings in high densities.Estimates were made of the considerable economic loss borne by the population due to malaria, which amounted to an annual average of 80 rupees per head of the population.James Haworth.