Five-year trend analysis of malaria prevalence in Shewarobit, Amhara regional state, North-central Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: analysis of the prevalence of malaria infection in health facilities is crucial for transmission dynamics and implementing evidence-based control strategies. The study was to determine a five-year pattern of malaria infection in Shewarobit, Northcentral Ethiopia. Methods: institutional based retrospective study was carried out to determine the prevalence of malaria infection from a five-year examination of malaria cases at Shewarobit Health Center, Ethiopia. The directory of all malaria cases reported between 2013-2017 was carefully examined and recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and the results were presented in tables and figures. Results: the results confirmed a total of 33,932 malaria suspects were diagnosed using microscopy over the last 5 years, of which 4705 (13.9%) were positive for malaria infection. Out of 4705 positive individuals, 3074 (65.3%) were males and 1631 (34.7%) were females. Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and mixed infection (both species) accounted for 44.8%, 44.1%, and 7.1% of the confirmed cases, respectively. Conclusion: the study demonstrated that malaria infection is a public health concern in the study area, and Plasmodium vivax was the predominant species. Thus, the district health bureau and other concerned stakeholders should strengthen evidence-based intervention of malaria control strategies to eliminate malaria infection.