Prevalence of Malaria Parasitaemia in Three Selected Local Government Areas of Niger State, North Central, Nigeria
Journal Title: Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology - Year 2017, Vol 16, Issue 3
Abstract
Introduction: Malaria- a parasitic protozoan infection, caused by Plasmodium species- is a major public health challenge in Africa. Aside hundreds of thousands of annual deaths attributable to malaria, lots of valuable man-hours- that could otherwise be put to some productive endeavours- are wasted in hospital visits and waiting time in clinics. An estimated 81% of all annual global malaria cases, as well as 91% of all global deaths that are due to malaria, occur in Africa. Therefore, the monitoring of prevalence of malaria parasitaemia is an integral part of any preventive and control measure put in place to curb the spread of malaria. Materials and Methods: This study was designed to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in three selected local government areas (LGA) of Niger State, north central, Nigeria. A total of 930 subjects were sampled from Borgu, Mashegu and Magama LGAs of Niger State. Out of these, 504(54.2%) were males, while 426(45.8%) were females. Twenty-two percent, 27.1%, 22%, 5.3%, 4.7%, 6.3%, 4.5% 3.7% and 4.4% were within the 1-5 years, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40 and >40 years age-groups respectively. The subjects were requested to complete questionnaires (self-administered for the literate ones but interviewer-administered for those who could not read and write. Also 0.5mL of capillary blood samples was collected from each of them. Thick and thin blood films of the samples were stained with Giemsa and the stained slides were microscopically examined for the presence or absence of the asexual stages of Plasmodium spp. Results: The study recorded an overall prevalence of 51.9%. The females had a higher prevalence (53.3%) than the males (50.8%). Among the various age-groups, 1-5 years, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40 and >40 years age-groups, the following prevalences respectively were recorded; 74.6%, 48.4%, 46.8%, 46.9%, 45.5%, 44.8%, 45.2%, 41.2% and 24.4%. No statistically significant (p>0.05) differences in prevalence were found among the various occupational groups of the subjects; students (47.9), farmers (57.7%), fishermen (64.9%), cattle-rearers (57.3%) and dependants/ full-time house-wives (60%). However, a statistically significant difference in prevalence (p<0.05) was discovered between subjects who lived in thatched-roof houses and those who lived in houses with corrugated iron roofing sheets. Prevalence was also significantly higher (p<0.05) among subjects who had no formal education. From the findings of the study, one out of every two subjects had malaria parasitaemia. If this is extrapolated to the entire communities of Borgu, Mashegu and Magama LGAs, it means greater than half (51.9%) of the general populace are infected with malaria. Conclusion and Suggestions: It is therefore recommended that the government of Niger State and the chairmen of these three LGAs should immediately put measures in place to curb and curtail the spread of malaria in these rural communities.
Authors and Affiliations
H. A. Edogun, G. O. Daramola, C. O. Esan, I. D. Edungbola
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP318184
- DOI 10.9734/JABB/2017/37884
- Views 65
- Downloads 0
Assessment of Physico-chemical Parameters of Soils in Fallowing Farmlands on the Abundance of Human Infecting Geohelminths in Mgbuitanwo Emohua, Rivers State, Nigeria
This study was conducted to determine the effects of soil physico-chemical parameters on the abundance of human infecting geohelminths in soils of environments used for open defaecation in Mgbuitanwo Emohua, Rivers State...
Effect of Different Fruit Juice Media on Bacterial Cellulose Production by Acinetobacter sp. BAN1 and Acetobacter pasteurianus PW1
Aim: To produce Bacteria Cellulose (BC) using Fruit juice with high sugar contents as the substrate for production. Study Design: The effect of different fruit juice on BC production by Acinetobacter sp. BAN1 and Acetoba...
Production of Monoclonal Antibodies in Transgenic Plants
Antibodies are one of specialized immune protein and innovative therapeutic agents that provides effective alternatives to treating various human diseases. The existing fermenter based process of production of great valu...
The Amelioration of Cyanide Induced Liver Toxicity with Bentonite Using Wistar Rat as Experimental Model
Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate the ameliorating effect of a natural bentonite found in Nigeria on liver enzymes of Wistar rat fed with cyanide from cassava waste water. The enzymes assayed were alkal...
Morphological Characterization of Macro Fungi Associated with Forest Tree of National Botanical Garden, Dhaka
This investigation was conducted in National Botanical Garden, Dhaka located at 24°00′ N (Latitude), 90°00′ E (Longitude) to document the morphology, diversity and distribution of macro fungi during the rainy seasons of...