Malaria Prevalence in Rice Farm Settlements South East Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Aim:Agrarian settlements in Nigeria possess a lot of factors that predisposes the populace to malaria. The present study focused on the evaluation of three-year prevalence of malaria in rice farm settlements, South-East Nigeria.Study Design:The study was a retrospective descriptive survey designed to evaluate the prevalence of malaria infection between January 2015 and December 2017. A total of 29, 458 records were examined, 21, 559 and 7, 899 from Ebonyi and Enugu States respectively for three years (2015 –2017). Male comprises 11, 453 of the records while the female was 18, 005.Place and DurationSoutheastern Nigeria \three yearsOriginal Research Article Methodology:Preparation of thick films blood smears for microscopyfollowing standard methods.Results: Overall, 12, 746 (43.3%) were positive for malaria parasites, 7, 651 (35.4%) and 5, 115 (64.8%) from Ebonyi and Enugu respectively.Prevalence of the infection was similar between male and female in Ebonyi State (35.5% vs. 35.3%, χ2= 0.044, df = 1, p = 0.834); but significantly higher in female compared to male in Enugu State (69.7% vs. 55.7%, χ2= 154.808, df = 1, p = 0.0001).Conclusion: There was high prevalence of malaria infection in rice farm settlements, south-east Nigeria