Assessment Of Malaria As A Public Health Problem In Finchaa Sugar Factory Based On Clinical Records And Parasitological Surve

An assessment of malaria as a public health problem was conducted during the twornpeak malaria seasons of 2005/06 among the residents of Finchaa Sugar Factoryrn(FSF), in eastern Wellega, western Ethiopia. The study was based on a cross-sectionalrnsurvey for malaria prevalence and the use of retrospective clinical records from FSFrnHealth Center. The study included determination of parasite rate, environmental andrnsocio-economic factors associated with or contributing to the transmission of malaria.rnRetrospective clinical reports of FSF Health Center during the past five years showedrnthat malaria was among the major infectious diseases constituting significant publicrnhealth problem, accounting for over 30% average annual prevalence in the area. Onrnthe other hand, examination of thick and thin blood films from a random sample ofrn700 individuals from 7 villages of FSF revealed an infection prevalence of 1.43% inrnNovember 2005 and 3.86% in April/May 2006, which suggests that malaria prevalencernin the area was moderate. Of the total 37 malaria positives on microscopy, 59.5% werernage 15 years and above. The study detected focal variation of malaria prevalence withrn6.95% in Village “E”; 3.84% in Kuyisa (non-FSF village) and Village “A”; 3.13% inrnVillage ”D”; 1.47% in Village “B”; 1.43% in Village “C” and 0.8% in Agamsa (arnresidential quarter for permanent employees). The result from the KAPs surveyrnrevealed low awareness (16.3%) in the community towards malaria infection and itsrncontrol techniques. Multiple factors such as favorable climate and topography,rnavailability of year-round water via irrigation, environmental modifications forrnirrigated sugar cane plantation, huge influx of labor force from malaria endemicrnadjacent regions and lack of continued attention to malaria control measures appearedrnto be responsible for the continuous transmission of the disease in the area. Hence,rnvector control measures, by instituting a second round of residual insecticidernapplication in the period March/April and other vector control measures such as thernuse of ITNs, must be instituted. Prevention of imported malaria and diseasernmanagement via administration of free anti-malaria therapy to the seasonal laborersrnmust be given adequate attention.rnKey words: Ethiopia, Finchaa Sugar Factory, Irrigation, Malaria, Plasmodium falciparum,rnPlasmodium vivax, Public health

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