Socio-Economic Status and Burden of Malaria in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Area, West Bengal

Background: Among vector-borne diseases, malaria induces a significant socio-economic burden mainly on poor households directly or indirectly. So in a country like India where BPL population is about 21.9%, (Census of India, 2011), malaria continues to be a persistent public health concern. The present paper is a modest attempt towards the assessment of the effect of socio-economic status on disease burden in KMC Area which is a high burden area of West Bengal.Methods: The data was collected from 396 randomly selected households across the randomly selected 12 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Area. The household expenditure incurred on preventive measures and total expenses on the treatment of malaria were calculated. Socio-economic status (SES) of the households is examined against the prevalence of the diseases as well as against the preventive and curative expenditure incurred due to malaria.Result: Malaria is the most commonly found disease in the study area, having a prevalence rate of 5.02%. More males are affected than females and the working-age group is the worst affected category. The population had to spend about 0.06% to 1.79% of their annual income on the treatment of the disease.Conclusion: The economic burden of the disease seems to be higher in those wards, which are having a larger population of low SES. The improvement in SES of the household’s status and fruitful developments in the slums would help alleviate the disease prevalence and consequently would lessen the economic burden on the residents. How to cite this article:Khatoon S, Khan MMA. Socio-Economic Status and Burden of Malaria in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Area, West Bengal. J Commun Dis 2020; 52(1): 72-77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202009