%0 Journal Article
%T Malaria Knowledge, Concern, Land Management, and Protection Practices among Land Owners and/or Managers in Lowland versus Highland Ecuador
%A Lauren L. Pinault
%A Fiona F. Hunter
%J Malaria Research and Treatment
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.4061/2011/765125
%X To control malaria effectively, it is essential to understand the current knowledge, beliefs, concerns, land management practices, and mosquito bite protection methods in use by citizens. This study presents a comparative, quantitative, interview-based study of land owners and/or managers ( ) in the Ecuadorian lowlands (presently considered malarious) ( ) and highlands (potentially malarious in the future) ( ). Although respondents had a strong understanding of where the disease occurs in their own country and of the basic relationship among standing water, mosquitoes, and malaria, about half of respondents in potential risk areas denied the current possibility of malaria infection on their own property. As well, about half of respondents with potential anopheline larval habitat did not report its presence, likely due to a highly specific definition of suitable mosquito habitat. Most respondents who are considered at risk of malaria currently use at least one type of mosquito bite prevention, most commonly bed nets. 1. Introduction Malaria remains a significant, debilitating and often lethal disease in many parts of South America, although its incidence, severity and impact is highly regional-dependent [1, 2]. In lowland Colombia, for example, malaria has been rated by focus groups as one of the most important health problems facing communities [3]. In Colombian and Ecuadorian communities, the cost of malaria prevention is much less expensive than the sum of direct costs (e.g., treatment, travel) and indirect costs (e.g., days of work lost) [4]. In both countries, national malaria control programs monitor the disease and carry out mosquito control programs in malaria endemic areas [5, 6]. Due to the success of these programs, statistics in Ecuador indicate that overall malaria incidence has declined over the last fifteen years, with occasional regional-scale epidemics at lower elevations (ca. < 1500£żm) [7]. At higher elevations, malaria was epidemic in the Inter-Andean valleys of Ecuador (>1500£żm) prior to the mid-1940s, when large-scale eradication efforts prevented ongoing malaria transmission in these regions, mainly through the reduction and possible elimination of local populations of Anopheles pseudopunctipennis [8]. Since that time, malaria has only caused illness in highland regions among migrants and travelers returning from low altitudes [1, 7]. Several reviews of the effects of various forms of global change on the incidence of insect-borne disease have stressed that malaria might move into higher-altitude regions as highland habitats become
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/mrt/2011/765125/