Arbab Ali Junejo, Khurshid Ahmed Abbasi, Amman Ullah Shaikh.
Plasmodium species of malaria seen in children of Larkana.
Pak Paed J Jan ;40(2):113-6.

Background: Malaria is one of major killer diseases in world. There were 198 million cases and 581000 deaths due to malaria globally in 2013. Malaria causes 500000 infections and 50000 deaths each year in Pakistan. Common malarial parasites prevalent in Pakistan are Plasmodium Falciparum and Vivax. This study was done to see which malaria parasite is common in this area. It will help in planning treatment strategy for treatment of malaria in children. Material and Methods: This is retrospective descriptive type of study carried out at Children Hospital Chandka Medical College Larkana for a period of one year from November 2013 to October 2014. All children attending out patients department (OPD) or admitted who were suspected as a case of malaria (fever, Vomiting, pallor, altered state of consciousness, fits and hepatosplenomegaly) were included in study. Samples of blood were taken by fingerprick method, thick and thin films of blood smears were made and were stained with Giemsa stain. Microscopic examination was done by malaria technician posted at hospital and reconfirmed by malaria supervisor. Data regarding patient’s age, sex, residential address, date and month of slide preparation was entered in register. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 17 and results are presented in percentages. Results: A total of 2599 slides were seen, malaria was positive in 228 (8.77%) of cases. Out of 228 malaria positive cases, 204 (89.4%) were Plasmodium Vivax, while 24 (10.52 %) were Plasmodium Falciparum. Regarding age, malaria was common in age group of 0-5 years 124 (54.4%), there were 88 (38.6%) children in age group of 6-11 years and 16 (7%) in age group of 11-15 years. There was no sex difference, there were 114 (50%) males and 114 (50%) females. Number of malaria cases increased from May to November, majority of patients were seen in September (39/228) and November 42/228. Conclusion: Most common specie was Plasmodium Vivax, malaria was prevalent equally in both sexes, majority of children were in age group of 0-11 years, and there was increase in number of cases from May to November.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com