Disparities of Plasmodium falciparum infection, malaria-related morbidity and access to malaria prevention and treatment among school-aged children: a national cross-sectional survey in Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: There is limited knowledge on the malaria burden of school-aged children in Côte d'Ivoire. The aim of this study was to assess Plasmodium falciparum infection, malaria-related morbidity, use of preventive measures and treatment against malaria, and physical access to health structures among school-aged children across Côte d'Ivoire.

Methods: A national, cross-sectional study was designed, consisting of clinical and parasitological examinations and interviews with schoolchildren.

Parasitic worms: knowledge, attitudes, and practices in Western Côte d'Ivoire with implications for integrated control.

Background: In the developing world where parasitic worm infections are pervasive, preventive chemotherapy is the key strategy for morbidity control. However, local knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of parasitic worms are poorly understood, although such information is required for prevention and sustainable control.

Methods: We carried out KAP surveys in two rural communities of Côte d'Ivoire that were subjected to school-based and community-based research and control activities.

Effect of an armed conflict on relative socioeconomic position of rural households: case study from western Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: Current conceptual frameworks on the interrelationship between armed conflict and poverty are based primarily on aggregated macro-level data and/or qualitative evidence and usually focus on adherents of warring factions. In contrast, there is a paucity of quantitative studies about the socioeconomic consequences of armed conflict at the micro-level, i.e.

Dynamics of socioeconomic risk factors for neglected tropical diseases and malaria in an armed conflict.

Background: Armed conflict and war are among the leading causes of disability and premature death, and there is a growing share of civilians killed or injured during armed conflicts. A major part of the civilian suffering stems from indirect effects or collateral impact such as changing risk profiles for infectious diseases. We focused on rural communities in the western part of Côte d'Ivoire, where fighting took place during the Ivorian civil war in 2002/2003, and assessed the dynamics of socioeconomic risk factors for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and malaria.