A study of the urban malaria transmission problem in Khartoum

A study of malaria prevalence and transmission was carried out in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The sentinel sites were EI manshia, an urban area on the Blue Nile and Ed dekheinat, a lower-income peri-urban area bordering t he White Nile. Anopheles arabiensis, the only malaria vector encountered, w as present throughout the year although vector density varied seasonally. P lasmodium falciparum was the only species found in El manshia. In Ed dekhei nat P. falciparum, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium vivax constituted 84.9, 8.2 and 6.9% of the cases, respectively. Plasmodium ovale appears to have r ecently spread into Khartoum since it has not previously been reported ther e. We conclude that focal transmission of malaria in the districts borderin g both Niles has become established and that the reservoir of human infecti ons has increased in recent years leading to increased risk of malaria epid emics, particularly in the aftermath of seasonal flooding. (C) 2000 Elsevie r Science B.V. All rights reserved.