Abstract
BackgroundMalaria is one of the most serious public health problems in the world, and is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Over the past years, the disease has been consistently reported as the first leading cause of outpatient visits, hospitalization and death in health facilities across the country. This study aimed to assess malaria prevalence trend in the Kombolcha Health Centre.MethodsA retrospective study was carried out in the Kombolcha Health Centre, north-central Ethiopia. Malaria cases reported from 2009 to 2016 were carefully reviewed from the laboratory record books. Interventions that had been taken in each year were collected from the district health bureau and head of Kombolcha Health Centre using checklists.ResultsA total of 27,492 blood films were examined from malaria-suspected patients in the Kombolcha Health Centre from 2009 to 2016. Malaria was confirmed and reported in 2066 (7.52%) of the examined blood films with 258 mean annual cases of. Minimum and maximum cases were reported in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax accounted 60.2% and 35.5% of the cases, respectively. Male patients were more affected (n = 1407; 68.1%) than female ones (n = 659; 31.89%). The highest malaria prevalence (n = 1440; 69.69%) was seen in the 15–45 years age group, followed by those 5–14 years old (n = 303; 14.67%), and finally patients under five years old (n = 217; 10.5%). Malaria cases were at a peak in spring and reduced in the winter season.ConclusionAlthough the current malaria control strategies are effective in decreasing the morbidity and mortality, malaria is still among major public health problems in Ethiopia. Plasmodium falciparum is the dominant species in the study area. However, in recent years P. vivax cases are increasing, indicating that attention should also be given to this species. The efficacy of chloroquine for P. vivax should be evaluated in the study area. Control activities should be continued and scale up.
Highlights
Malaria is one of the most serious public health problems in the world, and is a major public health problem in Ethiopia
Gebretsadik et al Parasites & Vectors (2018) 11:55 In Ethiopia, Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax are the dominant species, with P. falciparum accounting for 60% of malaria cases reported in the country [1, 4, 7, 10]
2066 (7.52%) were microscopically confirmed malaria cases
Summary
Malaria is one of the most serious public health problems in the world, and is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. In 2015, there were an estimated 429,000 malaria-related deaths (range 235,000–639,000) worldwide [3]. Most of these deaths occurred in Africa (92%), Southeast Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean region [4, 5]. In Ethiopia, malaria is endemic across three-quarters of the landmass, and an estimated 68%. In Ethiopia, Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax are the dominant species, with P. falciparum accounting for 60% of malaria cases reported in the country [1, 4, 7, 10]. Some parts of the country have no defined rainfall season, in many areas the number of cases reaches a peak after the main rainfall season, which occurs in July-September each year [6]
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