Prevalence of Uncomplicated and Severe Malaria in Outpatients of a Tertiary Hospital in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria is a public health burden in Nigeria, causing high levels of morbidity and mortality. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence of malaria amongst 1000 consenting outpatients of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State. Intravenous blood and demographic information were collected from each study participant. Blood samples were analyzed for the presence of malaria parasites with thick and thin blood films using Giemsa microscopy. Data obtained were analyzed statistically with Chi square test and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The only malaria parasite diagnosed in the study was Plasmodium falciparum. A total of 431 (43.1%) study participants were infected with P. falciparum with females and males having infection values of 202 (39.4%) and 229 (47.0%) respectively (P<0.05). Age groups 0 – 10 years and 31 – 40 years had the highest and least prevalence of 49.5% and 36.3% respectively (P<0.05). Overall malaria intensity levels (≥1000 parasites/µL) in this study was 190 (19.0%), with males and females having intensity prevalence of 18.1% and 19.9% respectively (P>0.05). Malaria intensity prevalence in relation to age showed a decrease in prevalence as the age of the study participants increased with age group 0 – 10 years having the highest prevalence of 37.8% and >40 years having the least prevalence of 13.9% (P<0.05). The study showed that malaria is still a health concern and also provided current data on malaria prevalence which is vital for planning and implementing successful malaria control strategies.