Malaria Parasitaemia among Residents of Isu Community, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Ani; O. C.; Ani; E. G.; Odii; B. O.; Okafor; F. C.

Volume : IV, Issue : XI, November - 2015

Malaria Parasitaemia among Residents of Isu Community, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Ani, O. C. , Ani, E. G. , Odii, B. O. , Okafor, F. C.

Abstract :

Background : Malaria is a global health problem and its prevalent rates have been on the increase in recent years. In rural settlements, poor access to healthcare facilities, poor malaria control awareness, low literacy level, among other factors, encourage malaria spread and pose major challenges to the success of antimalarial campaign. Consequently, this study, for the first time, investigated the prevalence and intensity of malaria parasitaemia in one of the rural communities in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria, Isu Community. Methodology: This study investigated the prevalence of malaria among individuals in selected villages of Isu community in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. A two–stage sampling design was adopted. The first stage involved selection of villages as Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) with three villages comprising Isuachara, Agbabor and Mgbala–ukwu, out of the seven villages selected randomly. In the second stage, a simple random sample of 240 individuals was taken from the three villages selected, using 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 6.32% with a standard deviation of 0.5. Thick blood smears of venous blood stained with Giemsa were examined microscopically for malaria parasitaemia (MP) and its intensity. Results: The overall prevalence and parasite intensity in the study population were 37.5% (n = 90) and 2361+857.55p/�L respectively. Most of the infected individuals had mild infection. There was no difference in infection rate among the sexes. Though the prevalence was higher among younger age groups, the differences between these age groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Regardless of the endemicity of malaria in the study area, the prevalence rate and intensity of malaria parasitaemia remained mild, indicating high tolerance of the disease. Sex did not determine the trend of malaria parasite infection in this study, while there was decline in prevalence of the infection with increase in age. Thus, this study has increased our understanding of the contributions of malaria to the public health burden of the area, inging to limelight the background information about malaria prevalence in the area.