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Variation in Malaria Endemicity in Relation to Microenvironmental Conditions in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea

Department of Human Ecology, University of Tokyo, Japan

Ryutaro Ohtsuka, DSc

Department of Human Ecology, University of Tokyo, Japan

Tsukasa Inaoka, PhD

Department of Public Health, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan

Masato Kawabata, MD, PhD

International Center for Medical Research, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan

Jun Ohashi, PhD

Department of Human Genetics, University of Tokyo, Japan

Masaki Matsushita, MSc

Department of Human Genetics, University of Tokyo, Japan

Katsushi Tokunaga, DSc

Department of Human Genetics, University of Tokyo, Japan

Shigeyuki Kano, MD, PhD

Department of Parasitology, Gunma University School of Medicine, Japan

Mamoru Suzuki, MD, PhD

Department of Parasitology, Gunma University School of Medicine, Japan

For 197 adults and adolescents in four villages of three small islands in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea, antimalarial antibody titers were examined using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and malaria parasites were detected by the microtiter plate hybridisation (MPH) method using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The parasite rate (either Plasmodium falciparum or P. vivax, or both) averaged 39.2 %, varying from 31.1 % to 44.8 % among the four villages due to natural and artificial microenvironmental conditions related to breeding sites of mosquitoes (Anopheles farauti). The lack of flat zones owing to geomorphological formation contributed to the lowest parasite rate in the extremely small island. However, human-modified environments such as a wet-land (naturally formed but artificially reformed) and an open well played significant roles in other inter-village differences. The present findings imply significant roles of microenvironment in diversified malaria prevalence and suggest some ways of mitigation of malarial hazards. Asia Pac J Public Health 2001; 13(2): 85-90

Key Words: Anopheles farauti • IFAT • malaria • microenvironment • Papua New Guinea.

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