Prevalence and management of <i>Falciparium</i> malaria among infants and children in Ota, Ogun state, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Studies were carried out to determine the prevalence of malaria parasite infection among infants and children (0-12yrs) in Ota, Southwestern Nigeria between April and December 2008. The two hospitals used were Ota General Hospital and Covenant University Health Centre, Canaanland, Ota. Thick and thin films were made and stained using standard parasitological procedures. Structured Questionnaires were distributed to ascertain the age, sex, drugs or insecticides used and state of health of the subjects before recruiting them into the study. Overall, 215 (80.5%) of the 267 children investigated were found to have malaria infection. Age group (0-5 years) had the highest frequency rate of 84.7% with mean parasite density of 900 and the difference between the age groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). Children of illiterates from suburb villages had the highest mean parasite density of 850 with 78.1% prevalence rate. 20% of the children were given local herbs and 22% used orthodox medicine as prophylaxis. Only 18% used insecticide treated mosquito nets while 24% of the parents spray insecticides to prevent mosquito bites. There is therefore need for more awareness on effective use of drugs and Insecticide Treated bed nets in malaria hyperendemic regions.

Prevalence of Malaria and Predisposing Factors to Antimalarial Drug Resistance in Southwestern Nigeria

“…This result is in agreement with earlier observations that Nigeria is known for high prevalence of malaria and it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country (Sowunmi et al, 2004;Ademowo et al, 2007;Olasehinde et al, 2010). The high prevalence rate of falciparum malaria in the selected study site is similar to the results of earlier studies in other parts of the country and other neighboring countries.…”

“…In highly endemic malarious area, where semi-immuned adults usually have substantially acquired resistance to local strains of plasmodia, the prevalence of clinical malaria is higher and its severity greater in pregnant women, children and young adults (WHO., 2003). The high prevalence rate in the study area could result to cerebral malaria in children, maternal anaemia and low birth weight and death as reported in earlier studies (Mockenhaupt et al, 2000;WHO., 2003;Olasehinde, 2010). This is probably because they are more exposed to malaria parasite due to bad environmental conditions and their life styles.…”

“…A prevalence rate of 76% was also reported by Aribodor et al (2003) in Anambra State, South East Nigeria. Moreover, Olasehinde et al (2010) reported a prevalence rate of 80.5% among children under 12 years in a cross sectional study in Southwestern Nigeria. The result of this study differs from that of Uko et al (1998), who recorded a low prevalence rate of (6.8%).…”

“…Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania account for 50% of the global deaths and 47% of all malaria cases (WHO., 2015). The vast majority of cases occur in children under the age of five years and pregnant women (Olasehinde et al, 2010). The number of new cases has declined by 25% globally and deaths from malaria have fallen by 42% (WHO., 2015).…”

“…More than half of the world's population lives in the areas where they remain at risk of malarial infection. The vast majority of cases occur in children under the age of five years and pregnant women (Greenwood et al, 2005;Olasehinde et al, 2010). It is one of the major public health problems in Nigeria, contributing a quarter of the malaria burden in Africa (WHO., 2010).…”