Six-year trend analysis of malaria prevalence at University of Gondar Specialized Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, from 2014 to 2019

Abstract

Globally, malaria is the major public health disease caused by plasmodium species and transmitted by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito. Assessment of the trend of malaria prevalence is important in the control and prevention of the disease. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the six year trend of malaria prevalence at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, northwest Ethiopia, from 2014 to 2019. A retrospective laboratory registration logbook review study was conducted on the malaria blood film examination results at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. The data was collected by using a data extraction tool and entered into SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the socio-demographic characteristics of study participants and presented by graphs, tables and texts. The binary logistic regression was also used to test the association the trend of malaria prevalence and different factors like sex, age, year, and season. From a total of 17,500 malaria blood film examinations, 1341 (7.7%) were confirmed for malaria parasites. Of the confirmed malaria cases, 47.2%, 45.6% and 7.2% were P. vivax, P. falciparum and mixed infection, respectively. The proportion of P. vivax was the predominant species in the first three study years (2014–2016) and P. falciparum became the predominant species in the last three study years (2017–2019). The odds of malaria prevalence was lower by 68%, 60% and 69% in the year 2017, 2018 and 2019 compared to 2014, respectively. It was also 1.41 times higher in males than in females. Moreover, the odds of malaria prevalence were 1.60, 1.64, 2.45 and 1.82 times higher in the age group of < 5, 5–14, 15–24 and 25–54 years old compared to the older age groups (> 54 years old), respectively. Even there was a significant declining in prevalence trend; malaria is still a major public health problem. The study showed that there was high seasonal fluctuation from year to year. Moreover, males and the younger age groups were more affected than females and old age groups, respectively. Therefore, malaria prevention and control activities should be strengthened and require extra efforts by considering these variability.

Analyzing the six-year malaria prevalence trends at Metehara Health Center, Central Ethiopia (2017/18–2022/23): Unveiling the resurgence and its impact on malaria elimination goals by 2030—A retrospective study

“…Our ndings align with comparable prevalence reported in Dembecha [20], Kaffa zone [21], Sibu Sire [22], and Dembia [23], while differing signi cantly from studies in Bale Zone [24], Arjo-Didessa sugar development site [25], and Harari [26]. Notably, our results show lower prevalence compared to Mojo health center [6], Ataye [27], and University of Gondar Specialized Referral Hospital [7]. This variation may stem from differences in geographical location, demographic characteristics, and economic activities among study participants.…”

“…Although the incidence of malaria in Ethiopia has decreased, the pace varies across regions [2]. Furthermore, the observed variation may be in uenced by the general public's knowledge of bed net usage, malaria transmission, and health-seeking behavior [7].…”

“…Malaria transmission in Ethiopia is generally characterized by low, unstable, and spatially and temporally heterogeneous patterns [5]. The primary transmission season occurs from September to December, following the main rainy season (June-August), with a minor transmission season observed during March-May [6,7]. The predominant malaria parasites, P. falciparum and P. vivax, account for approximately 70% and 30% of all reported cases, respectively [3].…”

Molecular investigation of malaria-infected patients in Djibouti city (2018–2021)

“…Given the large volume of trade between Ethiopia and Djibouti [ 46 ], the evolution of the malaria situation in one of the two countries can have a large impact on its neighbour [ 47 ]. A trend towards a decrease in the proportion of malaria infections due to P. vivax has been observed in certain regions of Ethiopia, sometimes even leading to a reversal of the trends, with P. falciparum becoming predominant in an area where P. vivax was previously predominant [ 48 – 50 ]. Finally, the failure of the RDTs used in Djibouti may have produced two effects which are consistent with a higher proportion of P. vivax reported in the previous studies [ 8 ].…”

Plasmodium falciparum transmission in the highlands of Ethiopia is driven by closely related and clonal parasites

“…There are ongoing reports of cases of both P. falciparum as the predominant species and P. vivax in this area (Mulugeta et al., 2022), but data are scarce. Similar to reports from other highland areas in Ethiopia, malaria transmission is highly seasonal with annual fluctuations (Mulugeta et al., 2022). The main rainy season with the highest number of malaria cases is from October to January, with a shorter rainy season around June–July.…”