Table 1.
Characteristics at the Time of Study Enrollment
| Characteristic |
Total n = 704 |
Low Transmission | High Transmission | P a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bvumbwe n = 184 |
Ngowe n = 186 |
Maseya n = 185 |
Makhuwira n = 149 |
|||
| Female, n (%) | 382 (54.3) | 118 (64.1) | 94 (50.5) | 92 (49.7) | 78 (52.4) | .02 |
| Older school age, >10 y, n (%) | 435 (61.8) | 105 (57.2) | 109 (58.6) | 119 (64.3) | 102 (68.5) | .12 |
| Slept under bed net last night,b n (%), missing = 23 |
309 (49.3) | 62 (53.9) | 124 (68.5) | 65 (35.3) | 58 (39.5) | <.0001 |
| Rainy season, n (%) | 364 (51.7) | 99 (53.8) | 100 (53.8) | 97 (52.4) | 68 (45.6) | .41 |
| Anemic,c n (%), missing = 1 |
106 (15.1) | 9 (4.9) | 35 (18.8) | 34 (18.4) | 28 (18.8) | .0002 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL, mean (SD), missing = 1 |
12.3 (1.5) | 13.1 (1.3) | 12.0 (1.5) | 12.0 (1.3) | 12.0 (1.3) | <.0001 |
| Fever last 48 h,d n (%), missing = 13 |
192 (27.8) | 28 (15.5) | 53 (29.6) | 64 (34.8) | 47 (32.0) | .0002 |
| Recent malaria treatment,e n (%), missing = 9 |
121 (17.4) | 25 (13.7) | 33 (18.2) | 35 (19.0) | 28 (19.1) | .48 |
| P. falciparum infection | ||||||
| RDT positive, n (%) | 259 (36.8) | 16 (8.7) | 56 (30.1) | 91 (49.2) | 96 (64.4) | <.0001 |
| Subpatent infection,f n (%) | 63 (9.0) | 12 (6.5) | 10 (5.4) | 22 (11.9) | 19 (12.8) | .03 |
| Proportion of infections subpatent | 0.20 | 0.43 | 0.15 | 0.19 | 0.16 | .01 |
Abbreviations: PCR, polymerase chain reaction; RDT, rapid diagnostic test.
P value of differences across school, χ2 test used for categorical variables and ANOVA used for hemoglobin.
Net use data for Bvumbwe was only available in the dry season.
Defined as hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL.
Fever in the last 48 hours reported or measured temperature ≥37.5ºC.
Recent treatment defined as student or parent reported receipt of an effective antimalarial drug in the 2 weeks preceding the interview.
At baseline, 63 children had a negative RDT result but had a positive result for malaria PCR (n = 61) or microscopy (n = 2).