Environmental factors of households in five districts of Kerala affected by the epidemic of chikungunya fever in 2007.
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Date
2010-03
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Abstract
Background. Two epidemics of chikungunya fever were
reported from Kerala in 2006 and 2007. We aimed to
investigate the environmental factors of households affected
by chikungunya fever and to estimate the proportion of
population that suffered from the disease during the epidemic
in 2007.
Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the
5 heavily affected districts of Kerala during October–November
2007. The 2-stage sampling technique was used to collect
data from 10 clusters, each having 18 houses from every
district, by interviewing the subjects using a structured
questionnaire. The sample size was 900.
Results. The proportion of the population affected by
chikungunya fever was 57.1% (95% CI: 52.8%–61.4%).
There was a significant association between location of houses
and disease status. Houses located near a public conveyance
facility (within 250 m) were relatively protected from the
disease (OR 0.19 [0.06–0.60]). About 69% of the
households perceived mosquito infestation as a problem and
46.6% used fumes to avoid mosquitoes. More than 42% of
households were not using any anti-mosquito measures at the
time of the survey. Stored drinking water was the most
common potential breeding source in the houses (23.5%).
Households which did not store water inside were protected
from the disease (OR 0.22 [0.08–0.65]).
Conclusion. The study indicated the persistence of favourable domestic and environmental factors after the epidemic, reflecting the necessity to strengthen anti-mosquito campaigns.
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Vijayakumar K, Anish T S, Sreekala K N, Ramachandran Reshmi, Philip Rekha Rachel. Environmental factors of households in five districts of Kerala affected by the epidemic of chikungunya fever in 2007. National Medical Journal of India. 2010 Mar-Apr; 23(2): 82-84.