Trends in malaria prevalence and risk factors associated with the disease in Nkongho-mbeng; a typical rural setting in the equatorial rainforest of the South West Region of Cameroon

Abstract

Globally, malaria in recent years has witnessed a decline in the number of cases and death, though the most recent world malaria report shows a slight decrease in the number of cases in 2018 compared to 2017 and, increase in 2017 compared to 2016. Africa remains the region with the greatest burden of the disease. Cameroon is among the countries with a very high burden of malaria, with the coastal and forest regions carrying the highest burden of the disease. Nkongho-mbeng is a typical rural setting in the equatorial rain forest region of Cameroon, with no existing knowledge of the epidemiology of malaria in this locality. This study aimed at determining the current status of malaria epidemiology in Nkongho-mbeng. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, during which blood samples were collected from 500 participants and examined by microscopy. Risk factors such as, age, sex, duration of stay in the locality, housing type, environmental sanitation and intervention strategies including use of, LLINs and drugs were investigated. Trends in malaria morbidity were also determined. Of the 500 samples studied, 60 were positive, giving an overall prevalence of 12.0% with the prevalence of asymptomatic infection (10.8%), more than quadruple the prevalence of symptomatic infections (1.2%) and, fever burden not due to malaria was 1.4%. The GMPD was 6,869.17 parasites/μL of blood (95% C.I: 4,977.26/μL– 9,480.19/μL). A LLINs coverage of 84.4% and 77.88% usage was observed. Unexpectedly, the prevalence of malaria was higher among those sleeping under LLINs (12.56%) than those not sleeping under LLINs (8.97%), though the difference was not significant (p = 0.371). Being a male (p = 0.044), being unemployed (p = 0.025) and, living in Mbetta (p = 0.013) or Lekwe (p = 0.022) and the presence bushes around homes (p = 0.002) were significant risk factors associated with malaria infection. Trends in proportion demonstrated that, the prevalence of malaria amongst patients receiving treatment in the health center from 2015 to 2019 decreased significantly (p < 0.001) and linearly from 9.74% to 3.08% respectively. Data generated from this study can be exploited for development of a more effective control measures to curb the spread of malaria within Nkongho-mbeng.

Prevalence, Parasite Density and Determinants of Falciparum Malaria Among Febrile Children in Some Peri-Urban Communities in Southwestern Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…2,29 Our finding is similar to the report of Umma et al 30 who reported malaria prevalence of 72.2% among febrile children attending Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, Northwestern Nigeria. However, the malaria prevalence in this study is higher than previous reports from other parts of Nigeria like Ibadan, 31 Borno, 32 Lagos, 33 Anambra, 34,35 Enugun, 36 Ogun, 37 Jos, 38,39 Sokoto 40 and other malaria-endemic countries such as Cameroon, 41,42 Ethiopia, 43,44 Ghana, 45 Malawi 46 and Rwanda. 47 On the other hand, a higher malaria prevalence of 80.5% and 78% were reported among children in Ogun, southwestern Nigeria and Al Sabah, South Sudan, 48,49 respectively.…”

“…This is higher than the 750 parasite/μL of blood reported in Ogun state, Nigeria 48 but lower than the geometric mean parasite density reported in studies conducted in Ghana, 51 Sudan, 52 and Cameroon. 42 The high geometric mean parasite density of malaria disease among children in this study could be as a result of constant exposure to mosquito bite without any major prevention and care intervention program which is a common characteristic of resource-poor settings. Furthermore, our findings revealed that P. falciparum was the only Plasmodium species encountered in this study.…”

The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Malaria Amongst Nursery and Primary School Pupils in Bui, Northwest Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our findings were similar to those of other studies in Cameroon; 10.8% of asymptomatic malaria among school children in the Nkonghombeng rural area of the Southwest Region [53], 14.1% among HIV patients in Limbe [54], 17.6% amongst children from five epidemiological strata of malaria in Cameroon [10], and 18.9% in Douala [18]. Out of Cameroon, it was similar to the 16.4% among U5C in the meso-endemic Iguhu of Western Kenya [48], 18.4% among asymptomatic migrant labourers in Armachiho District -Ethiopia [9], and the 1 -19% among people in the Amazonian indigenous Yanomami community area [55].…”

Hyper-prevalence of submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infections in a rural area of western Kenya with declining malaria cases

“…This could be attributed to existing social behavioural differences, such as more males engaging in nocturnal outdoor activities, which kept them out of the intervention coverage and low LLIN use when compared to female patients. Low LLIN use and participation in activities outside of intervention coverage [ 32 – 34 ] have been demonstrated to increase exposure to biting by infected female Anophelines [ 25 , 35 , 36 ]. As a result, this study findings corroborate previous research that reported a high prevalence of P. falciparum slide positivity in males [ 37 , 38 ].…”