Abstract
Background: Malaria cases continue to rise despite sustained efforts directed at eliminating the burden among Ghanaians. This study was aimed at describing the spectrum of malaria burden in a four-year (2013-2016) retrospective review among clients seeking care at the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital in the Western Region of Ghana. Materials and Methods: The study analyzed secondary data extracted on 32,629 patients who were referred to the Laboratory for malaria testing from January 2013 to December 2016. Socio-demographic data included age and gender, department of test requisition and malaria results were obtained from the archived Daily Malaria Logbook records. Approval for the study was granted by the authorities of the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital. Results: The overall confirmed malaria case was 8629 (26.5%), among under five 1,384 (58.7%), pregnant women 4451 (20.3%) and 14.1% among asymptomatic population. Significant gender disparity in the confirmation of suspected malaria cases was observed with males recording higher rate (45.8%) than females (36.7%). The peak of the malaria epidemic was observed in the wet season (195 cases per month), compared to the dry season (133 cases per month). Conclusion: Cases of malaria is increasing with high rates among vulnerable groups in the Western Region. There is the need to intensify efforts to reduce the burden in the study area especially among vulnerable groups.
Highlights
Malaria infection continues to be of significant public health importance worldwide and in the developing world in spite of sustained global efforts targeted at eliminating the disease [1, 2]
Cases of malaria is increasing with high rates among vulnerable groups in the Western Region
It is against this backdrop that in the present study, using a single site analysis, we aimed to describe the spectrum of malaria burden in a four-year (2013-2016) retrospective review among Ghanaians visiting the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital in the Western
Summary
Malaria infection continues to be of significant public health importance worldwide and in the developing world in spite of sustained global efforts targeted at eliminating the disease [1, 2]. In Ghana, about 2.3 million suspected malaria cases were recorded at the Out-Patient Department (OPD) in the first quarter of 2017 representing a 1.2% increase over the same period in 2016 [13]. It is against this backdrop that in the present study, using a single site analysis, we aimed to describe the spectrum of malaria burden in a four-year (2013-2016) retrospective review among Ghanaians visiting the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital in the Western. This study was aimed at describing the spectrum of malaria burden in a four-year (2013-2016) retrospective review among clients seeking care at the SefwiWiawso Municipal Hospital in the Western Region of Ghana
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