A 17-year trend analysis of malaria at Adi Arkay, north Gondar zone, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundMalaria is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This study aimed to determine the trend of malaria among febrile patients seeking treatment over 17 year (1997–2013) at Adi Arkay, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA 17-year malaria microscopy data were extracted retrospectively at Adi Arkay health centre. Time series and curve estimation analysis were used to evaluate trends in the data. Pearson’s Chi square test was also used to describe associations of variables.ResultsOver 17 years, 20,483 blood films were requested for malaria diagnosis at the health centre. Out of this, 7428 (36.1%) were microscopically confirmed malaria cases. Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and their mixed infection accounted for 68.85, 28.79, and 2.34% of all malaria cases, respectively. There was a remarkable reduction of overall malaria during the 17 years. Malaria was reported in all age groups of both sexes, but its positivity rate was significantly higher in males and in the 15–24 years than their counterparts.ConclusionIn relative terms, the overall positivity rate of malaria in the area over 17 years showed a significant reduction, but its magnitude as a public health problem is still alarming. Plasmodium falciparum played a significant role in the remarkable drop of overall malaria in the area, whereas vivax malaria remained unchanged. Therefore, control measures should continue to strengthen targeting both predominant malaria parasites in the area.

A 7-Year Trend of Malaria at Primary Health Facilities in Northwest Ethiopia

“…The study also showed that the prevalence of malaria was high among males and 15-29 years of age groups over the seven years trend. This was similar to the findings of studies conducted in Addi Arkay health center; Ataye district, North Shoa; and Abeshge, south-central Ethiopia [8,11,14]. This might be due to the fact that productive age groups often engaged in farm activities in the fields.…”

“…Seasonal fluctuations and high prevalence of malaria were observed in autumn (September to December) and the least prevalence in spring (March to May). This was in line with the findings of studies conducted in Ataye, North Shoa, Ethiopia (by Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health); Addi Arkay health center (Ethiopia); Abeshge (south-central Ethiopia); and Metema hospital, northwest Ethiopia [8,11,14]. Such high malaria prevalence in autumn (September to December) might be related to the formation of stagnant water after the heavy rain season, favorable temperature, and high vegetation density for mosquito breeding.…”

“…Moreover, P. falciparum was more dominant parasite than P. vivax which it exceeded by over threefold. The finding was comparable with the results of studies in Addi Arkay, northwest Ethiopia; Ataye, North Shoa, Ethiopia (by Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health); Abeshge, southcentral Ethiopia; Woreta town, northwest Ethiopia; and Metema hospital, northwest Ethiopia, which reported that P. falciparum was the dominant parasite over the study periods of each study [11][12][13][14][15]. The reason may be that the P. falciparum parasite can multiply rapidly by involving more than one parasite in a single red blood cell, colonizing all ages of the red blood cells without any selection, parasite-infected red blood cells (RBCs) can accumulate in various organs, and the availability of P. falciparum infected cases in communities [16,17].…”

“…The purpose of this trend analysis was to investigate the spread and impact of malaria across the nations of Ethiopia and seasons from 2012 to 2018 in order to highlight priorities According to this study, the trend of the prevalence of malaria among the 11,879 clients who were registered in the lab logbooks of the two health centers and requested for blood films over the seven years was 21.8%. This result was markedly lower than 36.1%, 48%, and 33.8% reported from the nearby localities of Addi Arkay health center, northwest Ethiopia; Woreta town, northwest Ethiopia; and Abeshge, south-central Ethiopia, respectively [8,11,12]. On the other hand, it was higher than the five-year trend study conducted in Ataye, North Shoa, Ethiopia; reported a total prevalence of 8.4%, the seven-year retrospective malaria report from Metema hospital, northwest Ethiopia; detected a prevalence of 17%, the fifteen-year study in Ethiopia; and noted a prevalence of 12.5% [13,14].…”

Trend of malaria prevalence in Wolkite health center: an implication towards the elimination of malaria in Ethiopia by 2030

“…The maximum and minimum confirmed malaria case was reported in 2015 and 2018 respectively. However, the prevalence was lower than reported from other retrospective studies conducted in Adi Arkay health center (36.1%), Serbo health center (43.8%), Halaba special district (9.5%) and Wolaita zone (33.27%) [16][17][18][19]. This variation might be due to climatic and altitude differences.…”