Five years trend analysis of malaria prevalence in Jardga Jarte district, western Ethiopia

Abstract

Retrospective study on malaria prevalence was conducted to determine a five-year malaria trend in three health facilities in Jardga Jarete district, western Ethiopia. All malaria cases reported from 2015 to 2019 in three health centers were carefully reviewed from the laboratory record books to determine the trends of malaria morbidity. The data were analyzed and presented in tables and figures. A total of 25,868 patients with malaria complaints were screened for malaria using microscopy within five years, of which 4,336 (16.8%) were confirmed positive cases. Higher percentage of malaria slide positivity rate was detected in Dandy (42%) followed by Haro Lago (38%) and Akeyu (20%) health centers. Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, and mixed infections accounted for 59.2%, 33%, and 7.8% of slide positive malaria rates, respectively. Males were more affected (n=2,465; 56.85%) than female ones (n=1,871; 43.15%). Malaria was higher in the age group >16 years (73.7%), followed by 6–15 years (13.4%), and 1-5 years (12.4%). The highest prevalence of malaria was observed through the months of September to November (27.1%), while the lowest infection rate was during the dry season months of December, January, and February, with a prevalence of 22.5%. This study revealed that malaria is a public health burden, with P. falciparum being the predominant malaria parasite followed by P. vivax. As a result, it is imperative to strengthen evidence-based malaria interventions that can contain the burden of the disease in the area.