Geospatial analysis of malaria burden in Kagera region, North-western Tanzania using health facility and community survey data

Abstract

Generating evidence of malaria burden in areas with confirmed artemisinin partial resistance (ART-R) is the first step before developing a response strategy to the resistance. In this study, we assessed the burden of malaria in Kagera region (with recently confirmed ART-R) by geospatial analysis using data from health facilities (HFs) and community surveys from 2017 to 2023. In 2983717/8124363 patients from HFs, rapid diagnostic test positivity rate was 36.7% (range: 0-80%) and was similar in patients aged under-fives (33.1%, range: 0-79%) and ≥5 years (33.7%, range: 3-80%). The prevalence of malaria was 10.0% (range: 0-40.5%, n=84999/ 853761) in pregnant women but it was 26.1% (3409/13065) in school children (range: 0-78.4%). We identified hotspots and coldspots, and persistently high burden in 69/192 wards, school children, and patients aged ≥5 years, providing evidence for planning and developing an ART-R response for the region.