Research Article

Effect of Seasonality and Ecological Factors on the Prevalence of the Four Malaria Parasite Species in Northern Mali

Table 4

Relationship between the age group and plasmodic index.

Age (in years)20042005 ๐‘ƒ value (ฯ‡ 2 test)
Positives(%)TotalPositives(%)Total

0โ€“950(8.69)57537(5.97)6190.0753
> 914(1.94)71860(7.53)796<0.0001
Total64(4.94)129397(6.85)14150.0441
๐‘ƒ -value (Fisherโ€™s exact test) <0.0001 0.2890

The plasmodic index varied significantly from May 2004 to February 2005 in the older people (age greater than 9 years of age) than the group of children between 0 and 9 years of age (Fisherโ€™s exact test, ๐‘ƒ = 0 . 0 0 0 1 ). In overall, there was a significant change in plasmodic index between May 2004 and February 2005 ( ๐œ’ 2 = 4.052; ๐‘ƒ = 0 . 0 4 4 1 ). It was greater in February 2005 with 6.85% versus 4.94% in May 2004.