[Factors that delay malaria diagnosis and treatment in the municipality of Riberalta in Bolivia]

[[[ Introduction: ]]] Few studies on the causes of the delay of malaria diagnosis and treatment in Bolivia are published. [[[ Objective: ]]] To know the factors that delay malaria diagnosis and treatment of malaria in the public service of the town of Riberalta, Bolivia. [[[ Materials and methods: ]]] The times between the onset of symptoms and treatment, between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis and between the diagnosis and the start of treatment were calculated. The averages of the calculated times were compared with respect to the site of infection, parasite species, level of care, place of diagnosis and diagnostic method and th patient’s age was correlated with the calculated times. [[[ Results: ]]] Between January and December 2010, 2,482 positive valid cases were studied. An average of 4.16 days was found between the onset of symptoms and the start of treatment, the average time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 4.07 days, and between diagnosis and the start of treatment 0.10 days. Statistically significant (p<0.05) differences were found for factors related to the delay of diagnosis such as place of diagnosis, site of infection, level of care, parasite species and diagnostic method. The analysis of covariance showed a statistical association with the level of care and the parasite species (p<0.05). [[[ Conclusion: ]]] The delay in malaria diagnosis is influenced by factors such as the site of infection, place of diagnosis, level of care, parasite species and diagnostic method.