The Prevalence Of Malaria And The Associated Risk Factors In Jiga Area Northwest Ethiopia

Malaria remains among leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. In Ethiopia the public healthrnand socio-economic impact of malaria is huge. It contributes highly to the country’s poverty andrnunderdevelopment. This study aimed at assessing the current situation of the disease in relation to relevantrnsocio-demographic and environmental factors in Jiga area, northwest Ethiopia. Descriptive cross-sectionalrnhousehold (HH) survey was carried out in November-December 2013. Out of 2,574 HHs (11,815 people),rn392 were randomly selected from three purposely selected clusters/Kebeles, the smallest administrativernunits in government structure. Heads of the selected HHs or any member of age ≥18 years, when thernformer was not at home during the visit, were interviewed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire torncapture relevant data on socio-demographic/environmental variables and malaria control interventions.rnFurther, randomly selected afebrile 392 inhabitants of the selected HHs within selected clusters wererntested for malaria by malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) using finger-prick blood samples. Elevenrnparticipants (2.8%) were found to be mRDT positive. Out of the screened inhabitants 95.9% had longlastingrninsecticidal nets (LLINs) and 76.1% self-reported to sleep under net the previous night. Insecticidernresidual spray (IRS) coverage was similarly reported to be 85.5%. Binary logistic regression analysesrnrevealed that low-income inhabitants were significantly positively associated with malaria infection (oddsrnratio (OR) = 1.165, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2100-6.4671, p=0.047). The association betweenrnproximity to mosquito breeding site and malaria incidence was also significant (p=0.025). In multivariaternanalysis while HH income level and number of LLINs/HH were positively associated with significantlyrnreduced malaria prevalence with p-values 0.049 (OR=4.5, 95% CI: 1.004-20.163) and 0.004 (OR=0 .508,rn95% CI: 0.074-3.46), respectively, HH distance from mosquito breeding site significantly increased thernrisk of malaria ((OR=0.077, 95% CI: 0.010-0.587), p=0.013). Ownership and use of LLINs in thernprevious night, IRS coverage, and other socio-demographics were not significantly associated withrnmalaria cases. The recorded malaria prevalence estimate is unexpectedly higher, relative to the mostrnrecent nationwide report, given the extensively undergoing control interventions, survey population andrnperiod, limitations of mRDT implicating the sustained risk of malaria in Jiga area with the involvement ofrnmultiple locality-specific factors. Therefore further work has to be done in scaling-up the implementationrnof proven malaria control tools in addition to the employment of other complimentary strategies.rnKeywords: Indoor residual spraying, long-lasting insecticidal net, mRDT, malaria, prevalence, Jabi-rnTehnan, Jiga

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