Prevalence of malaria and its risk factors in Lake Tana and surrounding areas, northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background In Ethiopia, malaria is a major concern to the health, and socio-economic development of the country because of its occurrence at the peak agricultural activities. Factors such as environmental, human host, parasite, and vector determine malaria transmission. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated factors of malaria among febrile patients who visited selected health centres. Methods Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2020 to July 2021 in eight selected health centres located in Lake Tana and its surrounding areas. A simple random sampling technique was used to select febrile patients. Thick and thin blood films were prepared and processed according to the WHO guidelines. Socio-demographic and malaria risk factors were collected from study participants who could read and write using a self-administered questionnaire, whereas face-to-face interview was used to collect information from those participants who could not write and read. The strength of association between risk factors and malaria was assessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results Of the total (531) febrile patients, 75.3% were malaria negative and 24.7% (overall prevalence) were malaria confirmed cases. Most of the infections were caused by Plasmodium falciparum (72.5%) followed by Plasmodium vivax (23.7%) and mixed-species (3.8%). The highest prevalence was recorded in Kidist Hana (51.5%) followed by Robit (34.8%), Gorgora (30.3%), and Wusha Tiris (25%) health centres. In terms of months, the highest prevalence (37.5%) was detected in October whereas the lowest (14%) was in March. Logistic regression analysis revealed that gender (p = 0.023), educational level (p = 0.025), study month (p = 0.036), presence of eave in the house (p = 0.002) and wall openings (p = 0.041), not using bed nets (p = 0.001), sleeping in the same house with cattle (p = 0.031) and the distance between mosquito-breeding site and living house (p = 0.020) were explanatory risk factors significantly associated with malaria among studied participants. Conclusions In this study, we confirmed that the occurrence of malaria prevalence was high and continued against the Ethiopian malaria elimination plan of 2021–2025. Therefore, to meet the goals of this plan, the current prevention and control efforts should be stepped up even better in the coming years.

Symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria prevalence and its determinant factors in pastoral communities of Waghemira Zone, Northeast Ethiopia: A community‐based cross‐sectional study

“…This disparity could be attributed to differences in study design and setting; for example, the study in Ibadan, Nigeria, was done in health facilities, which may have overestimated the prevalence compared to a community‐based study. In contrary to this, the prevalence of symptomatic malaria in this study was higher than reported in Ziquala district, Northeast Ethiopia (24.6%), 44 Lake Tana and its surrounding areas, Northwest Ethiopia 24.7%, 45 the Mount Cameroon area (41.7%), 46 the Pakro subdistrict of Ghana 32.9%, 47 and Dzanga Sangha Region, Central African Republic (35.2%) 48 and Malawi (19.0%) 49 . This variation might be attributed to the different data collection periods, settings, laboratory method, and laboratory personnel skills.…”

Malaria Prevalence and Risk Factors in Outpatients at Teda Health Center, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Utilization of LLIN was a significant protective factor against malaria infection in this study. This is in agreement with previous studies in Ethiopia [ 25 , 56 ]. This is because LLIN either mechanically inhibits mosquitoes from biting or biologically kills mosquitoes that come into contact with it [ 57 ].…”

“…This is inconsistent with the report of the WHO, which reported that P. falciparum is the dominant parasite in many parts of Ethiopia [ 3 ]. The dominance of P. falciparum was described in multiple studies conducted across Ethiopia [ 25 , 27 , 28 ]. However, reports showed that P. vivax was the dominant cause of malaria in various parts of Ethiopia [ 29 , 37 – 41 ].…”

Determinants of malaria infection among under five children in Gurusum district of Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia

“…Evidence from increased malaria infection among children living in houses with mosquito entry opening holes on the their walls is in line with other similar studies, such as (23)(24)(25)(26). Several structural de ciencies on houses that could allow entry of mosquitoes were found such as lack of screening, and external doors not tting perfectly into walls hence potential for mosquito entry at night (27).…”

“…Improving house structure is known to limit contact between humans and mosquitoes, and hence, reduces risk of malaria transmission. Our study indicated that several house characteristics such as, the presence of holes on walls, opened eaves, unscreened window and living close to breeding sites, favored mosquito presence in houses (24,25,29).…”