Seasonal Profile and Five-Year Trend Analysis of Malaria Prevalence in Maygaba Health Center, Welkait District, Northwest Ethiopia

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 ( χ 2 ) 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.

Trends in malaria prevalence in the Jakiri Health District in Cameroon over a 16- year period (2006-2021): A retrospective study

“…The observation that the malaria burden was higher in male febrile patients compared to females in the study area corroborates reports by Tigu et al, (22) and Yimer et al, (23) in Ethiopia and a similar study conducted in South West Region of Cameroon (24). This finding also tallieswith previous studies conducted in the central Africa sub-region (25,26) and has also been reported in other studies (27)(28)(29)(30)(31).…”

A Retrospective Analysis of Malaria Trends in Leka Dulecha Health Center over the Last Ten Years (2013‐2022), Western Oromia, East Wollega Zone

“…Malaria transmission peaks in most Ethiopian regions from September to December following a heavy summer rainy season, with lower transmission lasting from April to May following a short rainy season [5]. Furthermore, the prevalence and incidence of malaria vary according to sociodemographic risk factors such as age and gender [6]. The country is prone to cyclic epidemics every 5 to 8 years due to unstable transmission patterns and environmental changes [1,[5][6][7].…”

“…Furthermore, the prevalence and incidence of malaria vary according to sociodemographic risk factors such as age and gender [6]. The country is prone to cyclic epidemics every 5 to 8 years due to unstable transmission patterns and environmental changes [1,[5][6][7].…”

Trend analysis of malaria surveillance data in West Wallaga, West Oromia, Ethiopia: a framework for planning and elimination

“…In contrast, evidence shows that higher positivity rate ranged up to 41.53% was reported from the studies conducted in Welkait District, three zones (Central, North and West Gonder) of Amhara region, Gambella region and South Omo zone [ 8 , 9 , 16 , 23 ]. The existence of such variation may be explained by differences in ecology, climatic, and sociocultural conditions.…”

“…Ethiopia is a high malaria burden country with 60% of the population living in high transmission areas (the total population of the country being 102.8 million in 2020) [ 5 , 6 ]. However, the distribution and transmission of malaria varies across the country depending on rainfall patterns, altitude, and ecological and climate variations [ 7 , 8 ]. Evidences showed that, in Ethiopia, malaria accounts for loss of 30% of the overall disability adjusted life years (DALYs) [ 7 , 9 ].…”