Retrospective three –Year Trends in the Prevalence of Malaria and Associated Risk Factors in Tahtay Adiabo Woreda, Tigrai Regional State In Northern Ethiopia
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Date
2023-12
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In Ethiopia, malaria is a serious public health concern and exerts devastating socioeconomic obstacles. It is one of the main cause for both outpatient visits and hospital admissions in Tahtay Adiabo Woreda. However, the trends and associated risk factors of malaria are lacking in this particular area. Thus, the current study was designed to determine the retrospective prevalence of malaria and its associated risk factors in Tahtay Adiabo Woreda. All malaria cases reported from 2018 to 2020 health center were carefully reviewed from the rapid laboratory diagnostic test to determine the trends of malaria morbidity. Furthermore, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of Sheraro town's residents as well as those of neighboring kebeles to assess the risk factors to malaria.
A standardized questionnaire were employed to determine socio-demographic information. Statistical SPSS version-20 was used to enter, verify the completeness of, and analyze the data. To assess risk factors that were significantly associated, with multivariate logistic regression was employed. A statistically significant P-value was defined as one less than 0.05. In total, 87,612 malaria suspects were diagnosed using microscopy over the last 3 years, of which 15,558 (17.8%) were confirmed positive cases. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax accounted for 78.7% and 21.3% of the cases, respectively, no mixed infections of P. falciparum and P. viax were recorded. Both sexes and all age groups reported having malaria. Malaria was higher in the age group>16 years (73.7%) followed by 6-15 years (13.4%) and 1-5 years (12.4%) In this study, males were more affected (n=2,465; 56.85%) than females (1,871; 43.15%). The findings further identified that working or sleeping outside the home, using malaria net improperly, living in mud-plastered houses, and having stagnant water around were a few of the main risk factors connected with malaria in the study area(P<0.05). Infection with P. falciparum and P. vivax is the predominant cause of malaria, which is a significant public health concern in the Woreda. Thus, to reduce the spread of malaria, health planners and administrators should provide the community with intensive health interventions and education such as vector control measures, environmental management measures and personal protective measures.
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Keywords
Data, Malaria, Predominance, Questionnaire, Risk Factors