Adult and child malaria mortality in India: a nationally representative mortality survey

Abstract

Summary Background Malaria, a non-fatal disease if detected promptly and treated properly, still causes many deaths in malaria-endemic countries with limited healthcare facilities. National malaria mortality rates are, however, particularly difficult to assess reliably in such countries, as any fevers reliably diagnosed as malaria are likely therefore to be cured. Hence, most malaria deaths are from undiagnosed malaria, which may be misattributed in retrospective enquiries to other febrile causes of death, or vice-versa. Aim To estimate plausible ranges of malaria mortality in India, the most populous country where it remains common. Methods Nationally representative retrospective study of 122,000 deaths during 2001-03 in 6671 areas. Full-time non-medical field workers interviewed families or other respondents about each death, obtaining a half-page narrative plus answers to specific questions about the severity and course of any fevers. Each field report was scanned and emailed to two of 130 trained physicians, who independently coded underlying causes, with discrepancies resolved either via anonymous reconciliation or, failing that, adjudication. Findings Of all coded deaths at ages 1 month to 70 years, 3.6% (2681/75,342) were attributed to malaria. Of these, 2419 (90%) were rural and 2311 (86%) were not in any healthcare facility. Malaria-attributed death rates correlated geographically with local malaria transmission rates derived independently from the Indian malaria control programme, and rose after the wet season began. The adjudicated results suggest 205,000 malaria deaths per year in India before age 70 (55,000 in early childhood, 30,000 at ages 5-14, 120,000 at ages 15-69); cumulative probability 1.8% of death from malaria before age 70. Plausible upper and lower bounds (based only on the initial coding) were 125,000 to 277,000. Interpretation Despite inevitable uncertainty as to which unattended febrile deaths are from malaria, even the lower bound greatly exceeds the current WHO estimate of only 15,000 malaria deaths per year in India (5000 early childhood, 10,000 thereafter). This low estimate should be reconsidered, as should the low WHO estimate of adult malaria deaths worldwide. Funding US National Institutes of Health, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute.