Prevalence of Malaria in a Study Population in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Symptomatic Manifestations and Public Health Implications

Abstract

on the nature of symptoms observed in patients who were presumptively treated for malaria based on observed symptoms from which analysis was done on the occurrences of each of these symptoms. Then, the prevalence of malaria infection was investigated through data collection at the same hospital. These sets of data collected was centred on patients who attended the hospital (UMTH) between January, 2011 to December, 2011. The age of the patients ranged from 1 to 90 years. Results from questionnaire completed by the medical personnel at the hospital indicated that vomiting had the highest occurrence at 100%. Other symptoms such as fever, headache, joint pain and nausea ranked next to vomiting in occurrence with figures of between 64.7% and 94.1%, while symptoms such as jaundice, loss of consciousness, weight loss, arthralfia, bleeding, pyrexia, cough, backache, and reduced uterine output were the least in occurrence at between 5.9% and 11.8%. Apparently, symptoms such as Bleeding, jaundice, reduced uterine output are associated with pathologies of malaria parasites which appear to be flourishing in proliferation and are ferried to other parts of the body by the blood, where they are establishing new sites of more pronounced damages to host tissues (blood cells and other systemic related cells) associated with the related pathologies and emergence of these symptoms. It is suggested that treatment for patients should take into cognizance the most occurring symptoms, the reasons for this trend and incorporation certain drugs or slight adjustments of spectrum of drugs to accommodate effective management of this issue; while the skewed peak transmission season seem to indicate increased level malaria control steps during these period. A total of 271 of these individuals were examined by laboratory technicians through a method that involved blood smear making, appropriate staining of slides and examination of the blood smears for the presence of malaria parasites. Male patients recorded malaria parasite prevalence of 43.9% while for female patients it was 56.1%. This %prevalence difference based on gender does not appear significant. Peak malaria prevalence was recorded in the month of September and followed by June (15.58% and 14.02% respectively) while the value was least for March followed by November (2.21% and 3.69% respectively). This is indicative of skewness of most of the peak related values in the rainy season compared to the dry season. The sahel savannah related long stretch of dry climatic conditions of this area which provide breeding conditions during the rainy seasons is likely to be one of the contributors to this observation, alongside other human malariogenic and environmental factors which favour increased breeding of the mosquito vector.

Improving malaria preventive practices and pregnancy outcomes through a health education intervention: A randomized controlled trial

“…Seasonal variation in malaria prevalence has been reported in Maiduguri, with the highest prevalence in September, followed by June, and the least prevalence in March [ 68 ]. Seasonal variation has also been reported in the mosquito population and mosquito biting habit in other parts of Nigeria [ 69 , 70 ].…”

“…Although some previous interventions had also been effective in increasing malaria preventive practices among the intervention groups [27,49,66,67], the intensity of such interventions in terms of duration, had been contrastingly very high (as some lasted for up to a month) when compared to the single session four-hour intervention in this study. Seasonal variation in malaria prevalence has been reported in Maiduguri, with the highest prevalence in September, followed by June, and the least prevalence in March [68]. Seasonal variation has also been reported in the mosquito population and mosquito biting habit in other parts of Nigeria [69,70].…”

Improving malaria preventive practices and pregnancy outcomes through a health educational intervention: a randomized controlled trial

“…From the interaction plot between group and time for frequency of ITN use and IPTp uptake, it could be concluded that the intervention was effective in improving the two outcome variables. Seasonal variation in malaria prevalence has been reported in Maiduguri, with the highest prevalence in September, followed by June, and the least prevalence in March [59]. Seasonal variation has also been reported in mosquito population and mosquito biting habit in other parts of Nigeria [60,61].…”

Determinants of Malaria Infection Among Under-Five Children in State Specialist Hospital, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

“…The prevalence of inadequate malaria preventative behaviours among children under the age of five has been observed to be typically low throughout all six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The results of the national malaria situation survey revealed that there is a low prevalence of bed-net usage among the population, as shown by the fact that only 10% of the respondents reported using bed nets (David, et al, 2016). According to the Nigeria Demographics and Health survey conducted in 2018, it was found that a significant portion of the respondents employed various preventative methods.…”

“…Malaria has the potential to cause serious and life-threatening consequences in children under the age of five, since their immune systems are still in the process of development and so more susceptible (David et al, 2016). The aforementioned difficulties encompass the presence of severe anaemia, a condition that results in the debilitation of the kid and possesses the potential to pose a threat to their lives if not swiftly addressed.…”