Malaria In Symptomatic Patients Attending A Federal Medical Centre In Central Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria remains an ongoing problem in Nigeria even though a lot has been achieved in the past years; millions of people are still at risk of contracting the parasite. Thus, this study determined the malaria prevalence in symptomatic patients attending a Federal Medical Centre in Central Nigeria. Five milliliters (5mls) of blood was collected from 250 patients between July and December 2023 by the use of a well labeled ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer tube and malaria parasite test was conducted using microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). Out of a total of 250 patients examined for malaria parasite in this study, 132 (52.8%) were significantly (P<0.05) positive to microscopy while RDT recorded 55 (22.0%) positive. Males had higher malaria prevalence of 61.3% in microscopy and 28.6% in RDT than 45.0% (microscopy) and 16.0% (RDT) recorded in females. Age groups, < 5, 5 – 10 and 50 and above years had the highest positive cases of 51.8%, 56.1% and 65.6%, respectively. A significant difference (P<0.05) was also recorded in relation to educational background, amongst rural and urban dwellers, and net usage status, respectively.  The inhabitants of Keffi Local Government Area should observe regular sanitation to clear out all potential malaria vectors breeding grounds and avoid human-vectors contact by sleeping under long lasting insecticide treated bednets.