Abstract
BackgroundMalaria intervention in Ethiopia has been strengthened significantly in the past decade. The Ethiopian government recently stratified the country based upon annual parasite incidence into malaria free, low, moderate and high transmission strata. Districts with low transmission were targeted for indigenous transmission elimination. Surveillance on malaria disease incidence is needed for planning control and elimination efforts.MethodsClinical malaria was monitored prospectively in health facilities in Jimma town, Oromia Region, southwestern Ethiopia from July 2014 to June 2015. Seasonal cross-sectional parasite prevalence surveys in local communities were conducted in 2014 and 2015 in eight kebeles. Case report forms were administered to obtain sociodemographic and epidemiological information from patients.ResultsA total of 1434 suspected malaria cases were examined from the health facilities and 428 confirmed malaria cases were found. Among them, 327 (76.4 %) cases were Plasmodium vivax, 97 (22.7 %) were Plasmodium falciparum, and 4 (0.9 %) were mixed infection of P. vivax and P. falciparum. The annual malaria incidence rate was 1.7 cases per 1000 people at risk. Parasite prevalence in the community was less than 3 %. Household ownership of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) was 47.3 % (1173/2479) and ITN usage was 37.9 %. All ITNs were long-lasting insecticidal nets, and repellent use was not found in the study area. Being male and traveling were the significant risk factors for P. falciparum malaria. For P. vivax malaria, risk factors included occupation and history of malaria illness during the preceding 30 days.ConclusionEpidemiological evidence suggested low clinical malaria incidence and prevalence in Jimma town. More aggressive measures may be needed to further suppress vivax transmission. Strategies should be planned targeting sustained control and elimination.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-016-1298-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Malaria intervention in Ethiopia has been strengthened significantly in the past decade
Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) have been distributed free of charge to the entire population through mass campaigns to step up vector control and prevention since 2006 [3, 4]
While no epidemics have been reported in the country since 2004 [7], a comprehensive longitudinal study showed that malaria remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia [8, 9]
Summary
Malaria intervention in Ethiopia has been strengthened significantly in the past decade. Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa where Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum coexist [1, 2] It is one of the few African countries with a policy of providing malaria prevention and control services including malaria diagnosis and treatment, insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), and indoor residual spray (IRS) free of charge [3,4,5,6]. This policy ensures that malaria interventions reach the poor, and in turn enables them to increase economic productivity [4]. While no epidemics have been reported in the country since 2004 [7], a comprehensive longitudinal study showed that malaria remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia [8, 9]
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