Malaria Prevalence and Indoor-Biting Mosquito Vector Abundance in Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper studies malaria prevalence and the abundance of indoor-biting
mosquito vectors in Ogbunike community, Oyi Local Government Area of
Anambra State, Nigeria between May and September 2010. Blood samples
were collected from 208 healthy participants (94 males and 114 females)
selected from the six villages of the town. Thick and thin blood films were
made, stained with Field’s stains A and B and examined microscopically.
Indoor-biting mosquito vectors were collected using Pyrethrum Knockdown
Collection method (PKC). Of the 208 participants, 121 (58.2%) were
malaria positives. Considering the intensity of malaria among the
participants, 86 (71.1%) had mild infection (+), 32 (26.4%) had moderate
infection (++) and 3 (2.5%) had heavy infection (+++). Only Plasmodium
falciparum was seen. Osile village had the highest prevalence (64.5%) while Umueri had the least prevalence (51.7%). Malaria prevalence among
different villages of the community was statistically significant (8.88, df = 5; p<0.05) while malaria intensity was not significant (0.82, df=5; p>0.05).
The age group 61 has the highest malaria prevalence (64.7%), followed by age group of 0-10 (63.2%) while 41-50 had the least (42.9%). The malaria prevalence in relation to age was significant (5.56, df=5; p<0.05). Malaria prevalence according to occupation was not significant (p>0.05). Females 73(35.1%) were affected more than the males 48(23.1%) though there was no significant difference (p>0.05). 110 Anopheles gambiae was collected from the six villages of the community with Osile having the highest indoor-biting Anopheles mosquito 24 (21.8%) while Ifite had the least collection 13 (11.8%). There was a positive strong relationship between malaria prevalence and Anopheles abundance in the villages in Ogbunike (r=0.1221684; p<0.05).

Key words: Malaria, Prevalence, Vector abundance, Rainforest, Rural,
Community.
Introduction