Association of Hunting Behavior and Malaria incidence: A cross Sectional Study on Nuaulu Tribe community in Mesoendemic Area of Malaria Marasabessy Nur Baharia1,2,*, Soedirham Oedojo2, Dachlan Yoes Prijatna3 1Polytechnic of Health, Ministry of Health, Maluku Province, Indonesia 2Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia 3Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia *Corresponding Author: Nur Baharia Marasabessy, Polytechnic of Health, Ministry of Health, Maluku Province, Indonesia, Email: nur.baharia.marasabessy-2016@fkm.unair.ac.id
Online published on 13 November, 2019. Abstract Background The Nuaulu tribe is one of the indigenous tribes in Maluku Province, Indonesia which becomes the area of malaria endemics. This tribe still adheres to the customs and habits of its ancestors, one of which is hunting. It is carried out to fulfill the needs of life and the implementation of traditional rituals performed from afternoon to morning or days in the forest, depending on the obtained sustenance. The hunting location in a forest that is far from the residential area. Hunters are often exposed to mosquitoes from entering the forest to returning home. Objective This study aims to reveal the profile of TNF-α and IL-10 related to hunting habits in tribal community in malaria mesoendemic area. Method Cross sectional study was conducted in Sepa Village, Indonesia during July-August 2019. Each subject was asked to complete a questionnaire asking about demographic and the desired study factor. Laboratory evaluations used thick and thin blood films were prepared from venous blood, stained with Giemsa stain, and examined by two microscopists for detection of malarial parasites and parasite species. Inclusion criteria were being aged 18 years ≥ n ≤60 years, being a resident of Sepa Village and being willing to participate in the study. A total of 84 subjects were included in this study. Result 40 subjects were with hunting activities and 44 were not. Only three subjects (3, 6%) were positive malaria. We found no significant association (p=0, 243) between hunting behavior and malaria incidence, even no malaria sufferers in subjects with hunting behavior. We found significant association (p=0, 000) between hunting behavior and gender. Conclusion Our study showed that hunting behavior did not cause malaria incidence in the Nuaulu Tribe community. Malaria sufferers were only found in non-hunting groups. Top Keywords Hunting behavior, malaria incidence, Nuaulu, tribe. Top |