Notes about the impact of human seasonal migration on malaria spreading in rural Venezuela.

This paper considers the effect of social and cultural factors on malaria spreading in rural Venezuela. It argues that standard vertical malaria control programs are inclined to ignore local workplace and living conditions instead of recruiting traditional practices into the planning scenario for more effective malaria control. An epidemiological survey on people migrating from malaria endemic areas to non-endemic region studied by blood films and a Plasmodium falciparum in vivo test. The results of the survey on people migrating from malaria endemic areas to non endemic regions revealed that 138 (118 males and 20 females) (23.3%) had fever (38.2-39 degrees C), malarial parasites were detected in the blood films of 49 (35.5%) from 138 febrile (parasitaemic) patients, and 45 (91.8%) of the parasitaemic cases were infected with P. falciparum; other four cases carried P. vivax only. Differences in prevalence, parasites load and the density of infection were observed between the three age groups. The asexual parasite load and the density of parasites (asexual and sexual forms) were appreciably higher in older children than in the other two age-groups (P < 0.001 for each). In the Plasmodium falciparum in vivo test, nine (22.5%) patients presented resistance grade III. People with transient jobs in malaria endemic areas could transport the parasites to non-endemic areas establishing a new malaria focus during seasonal migration activities.