Abstract
Background Malaria is a serious public health problem of most developing countries, including Ethiopia. The burden of malaria is severely affecting the economy and lives of people, particularly among the productive ages of rural society. Thus, this study was targeted to analyze the past five-year retrospective malaria data among the rural setting of Maygaba town, Welkait district, northwest Ethiopia. Methods The study was done on 36,219 outpatients attending for malaria diagnosis during January 2015 to 2019. Data was extracted from the outpatient medical database. Chi-square (χ2) test and binary logistic regression model were used to analyze the retrospective data. Statistical significance was defined at p < 0.05. Results Of 36,219 outpatients examined, 7,309 (20.2%) malaria-positive cases were reported during 2015-2019. There was a fluctuating trend in the number of malaria-suspected and -confirmed cases in each year. Male slide-confirmed (61.4%, N = 4,485) were significantly higher than females (38.6%, N = 2,824) (p < 005). Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax were the dominant parasites detected, which accounted for 66.1%; N = 4832, 33.9%; N = 2477, respectively. Despite the seasonal abundance of malaria cases, the highest prevalence was recorded in autumn (September to November) in the study area. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that statistically significant associations were observed between sexes, interseasons, mean seasonal rainfall, and mean seasonal temperature with the prevalence of P. vivax. However, P. falciparum has shown a significant association with interseasons and mean seasonal temperature. Conclusions Although the overall prevalence of malaria was continually declined from 2015-2019, malaria remains the major public health problem in the study area. The severe species of P. falciparum was found to be the dominant parasite reported in the study area. A collaborative action between the national malaria control program and its partners towards the transmission, prevention, and control of the two deadly species is highly recommended.
Highlights
Malaria is one of the major tropical diseases that adversely affect the public health and the economic development of many developing countries [1]
7,244 malaria-suspected and 1,462 malaria-confirmed cases were tested by Maygaba Health Center (MHC) every year
The five-year retrospective data analysis revealed that the overall prevalence of malaria was showing a declining trend except a slight increase observed in the year of 2016, and this was due to the occurrence of unseasonal rainfall in the study area as the information obtained from the MHC indicates but significant association was not observed with yearly
Summary
Malaria is one of the major tropical diseases that adversely affect the public health and the economic development of many developing countries [1]. P. falciparum and P. vivax are the most deadly parasites that cause severe morbidity and mortality in most malarious regions of the world including Ethiopia [2, 3]. The severity of P. falciparum malaria is much more complex than any other known species. Malaria is a serious public health problem of most developing countries, including Ethiopia. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that statistically significant associations were observed between sexes, interseasons, mean seasonal rainfall, and mean seasonal temperature with the prevalence of P. vivax. The overall prevalence of malaria was continually declined from 2015-2019, malaria remains the major public health problem in the study area. The severe species of P. falciparum was found to be the dominant parasite reported in the study area. A collaborative action between the national malaria control program and its partners towards the transmission, prevention, and control of the two deadly species is highly recommended
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
