A study on risk factors of Wuchereria bancroftian filarial disease in Pondicherry.

Pondicherry is known to be endemic for filariasis since 1957 and the latest filarial infection and overall disease rate in this area was 4.8% and 6.6% respectively. Also it is stated that the bancroftian filariasis is an urban disease which spreads from urban to rural area. Therefore for studying role of socio-demographic characteristics relative to spread of this disease Pondicherry urban area was chosen as study area. A case control study design was adopted to see the variation in the levels of Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) between affected and normal individuals. Further to understand the potential risk factors that contribute for progression of disease case control study is considered appropriate. The required sample size was based on case-control ratio 1:1 with 95% confidence and 95% power to detect an odds ratio (OR) of at least two for the variable under investigation. From a preliminary study with small sample size it was observed that the proportion of non-filarial cases in the lower income group was 0.572. (excerpt)