Abstract
BackgroundMalaria remains the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in Tanzania. However, its prevalence varies from area to area depending on various ecological, socio-economic and health system factors. This study was carried out to determine malaria prevalence and associated factors among rice farming communities in the Kilangali village of Kilosa District in Central Tanzania.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2015, involving randomly selected persons living in the six sub-villages of the Kilangali village, namely Mlegeni, Kisiwani, Makuruwili, Kwamtunga, Upogoroni and Chamwino. A finger prick blood sample was obtained for diagnosis of malaria infection using Giemsa-stained thick smears and a rapid malaria diagnostic test. Study participants were also screened for haemoglobin levels and a total of 570 children aged ≤ 12 years of age were examined for spleen enlargement using the palpation method.ResultsA total of 1154 persons were examined for malaria infection with mean age of 21.9 ± 19.69 years. The overall malaria prevalence was 14.2% and 17.5% based on microscopic examination and rapid diagnostic test, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum accounted for the majority (89%) of the malaria infections. The overall geometrical mean parasite density was 20.5 parasites/μL (95% CI: 14.6–28.8). Malaria prevalence and parasitaemia was highest among individuals living in the Mlegeni (23.9%) and Makuruwili (24.4%) sub-villages. Among the children examined for splenomegaly, 2.98% (17/570) had it. The overall prevalence of anaemia was 34.6%. Malaria infection was associated with the age groups of 1–10 years (aOR = 4.41, 95% CI: 1.96–9.93, P < 0.001) and 11–20 years (aOR = 6.68, 95% CI: 2.91–15.37, P < 0.001); and mild anaemia (aOR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.11–2.62, P < 0.014) and moderate anaemia (aOR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.01–2.39, P < 0.045).ConclusionsMalaria was found at the study setting and its prevalence varied according to the demographic characteristics of the study participants and between sub-villages that are closely located.
Highlights
Malaria remains the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in Tanzania
The selection of the Kilangali village for this study was mainly based on the fact that the type of rice farming practised by the communities provides suitable breeding sites for the major malaria vectors
Study participants who reported not using mosquito nets had the highest prevalence of malaria parasites and had higher geometric mean parasite densities than those who reported using mosquito nets (19.91 parasites/μL versus 23.9 parasites/ μL, t = 3.22, P = 0.001)
Summary
Malaria remains the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in Tanzania. its prevalence varies from area to area depending on various ecological, socio-economic and health system factors. The global number of malaria deaths has declined by 48%, from about 839 000 in 2000 to 438 000 in 2015 [3] This decline had been reported in Tanzania [4,5,6,7], where national parasitaemia rates have declined by almost 50%, from 17.7% in 2008 to 9.2% in 2012 [7]. Despite this remarkable achievement, malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the country [7]. Malaria causes a significant burden to the health system, and is responsible for over 16 million clinical cases and over 100 000 deaths annually [3, 8]
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