The Prevalence of Malaria in Tselemti Wereda, North Ethiopia: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A significant segment of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria infection at any one time. In Ethiopia, sustained control efforts have been made in the past decade to fight malaria. Yet, it remains as the major cause of morbidity, mortality and socioeconomic problems in the country. The intensified control of malaria can further be augmented by analyzing health facility based malaria data. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of malaria infection in Northwest Ethiopia.METHODS: A retrospective record review was conducted in Northwest Ethiopia from February-April 2016. All blood film results reported between January 2013 and December 2015 in the seven health centers were extracted and analyzed.RESULTS: A total of 41,773 patients with chief malaria complaint were screened for malaria in the three years period. The overall prevalence of microscopically confirmed malaria was 28.1%. Males (29.5%) were more affected by malaria than females (26.5%). Malaria was also higher in the age group >15 years (32.6%) followed by 5-15 years (29.3%) and under-five children (20.5%). Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and mixed infectionsaccounted for 58.2%, 35.5% and 6.3%, respectively. The highest prevalence of confirmed malaria cases was observed during spring (35.6%) and summer (25.1%). Higher prevalence of slide positive malaria was recorded in Dima (46.1%), Cherecher (45.3%) andFyel wuha (35.3%) health centers.CONCLUSION: Malaria specific outpatient cases were high in the study area. Both plasmodia species were of public health significance in the area with predominance of Plasmodiumfalciparum.

Malaria prevalence, knowledge, attitude, and practice among febrile patients attending Chagni health center, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…The dominant Plasmodium species detected in the current study participants was P. falciparum . This finding is congruent with national figures and other similar studies in parts of Ethiopia that reported preponderance of P. falciparum than P. vivax [ 3 , 8 , 26 , 27 ]. However, this is incongruity with the previous report from Jimma Town, which reported a higher prevalence of P. vivax than P. falciparum [ 28 ].…”

“…In the present study, more males (55.4%) were affected by malaria than females (44.6%). This finding is concurrent with studies from several localities in Ethiopia that reported higher malaria burden among males than females [ 23 , 26 , 27 ]. The higher prevalence rate in males might be due to the fact that males are usually engaged in outdoor activities at dusks and dawns, coinciding with the peak biting hours of the exophagic mosquito species.…”

“…Regarding the age groups, the burden of malaria morbidity was more concentrated in the adults of age 15 and above. Studies elsewhere in Ethiopia have also shown that the risk of malaria infection varied by age with some reporting more susceptibility to malaria infections among males in the age groups > 15 years [ 7 , 26 , 27 , 30 ]. The contributing factors for such higher burden of disease among adults might be due to their frequent engagement in different activities like agriculture, trade and other occupational risks that increase the exposure to infective mosquito bites.…”

Retrospective and cross-sectional study on the prevalence of malaria in selected areas under elimination program in Dembiya district, North-western Ethiopia

“…Similar trend of Plasmodium parasite distributions were reported from Gilgel-Gibe [31] and children from Northern Ethiopia [32] and migrant laborers from North-western Ethiopia [33]. Retrospective studies from Kola Diba health centre [22], Serbo health centre [23], Metema hospital [24], Kombolcha [25], and Tselemti Woreda [34] and a survey from different part of Ethiopia [35] also support this study nding. However, reports showed that P. vivax was the dominant species in some part of Ethiopia [28, 36, & 37].…”

Facteurs comportementaux et environnementaux associés au paludisme à Tourou (Bénin) en période de faible endémicité

“…Une prévalence qui devrait être plus importante si l'étude a été menée en saison pluvieuse, période de forte endémie palustre. Ramdzan et al (2020) en Indonésie et Meresa et al (2018) en Ethiopie ont rapporté des prévalences similaires respectivement 33,6% et 45,3% en population. Une prévalence plus élevée a été rapportée par Tusting et al (2017) au Burkina Faso notamment 70,6% à l'examen microscopique et 79,8% au test diagnostic rapide.…”