Prevalence of Malaria in Asymptomatic Schoolchildren and Bed Nets Coverage and Use in Arba Minch Town, Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Malaria is a common and life-threatening disease in many tropical and subtropical areas. In endemic countries, school age children are remaining asymptomatic and serving as a reservoir of malaria parasites. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria in asymptomatic children and bed nets coverage and use rate in Arba Minch town, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from February to April 2018. A total of 1,532school age children were sampled from 4 randomly selected primary schools using systematic sampling technique. Pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and the coverage and use of bed nets during house to house visit. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) was used for detection, identification and quantification of malaria parasites. All positives and 20% of negative slides were re-confirmed by microscopy. Binary logistic regression was employed and all variable which has p-value less than 0.20during bi-variate analysis were entered into a multivariate analysis to outline the independent predictors of the malaria. The distribution map of malaria was generated using geographic information system and remote sensing. The overall prevalence of malaria among asymptomatic school age children was 0.5% (8/1532; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI):0.23-1.03). With regard to the parasite species, the prevalence was 0.4% (6/1532; 95% CI: 0.14-0.85) for P. vivax and 0.1% (2/1532; 95% CI: 0.02-0.47) for P. falciparum. About the distribution among schools, majority (7 of the 8 cases) of the positive cases were from Arba Minch Mulu primary school. Of which, five cases were P. vivax, and the other two cases were P. falciparum. About 975 (63.6%) households had ITNs, but only 297 (30.5%) household members used the nets the last night. Only 6 (0.6%) school age children slept under the nets in the last night. In conclusion. vivax was the common parasite among the asymptomatic school children and it could be a threat for malaria control and the future elimination plan. Therefore, it is important to give attention for asymptomatic individuals who are infective reservoirs in the community. Moreover, the bed nets coverage and use rate should be improved in school age children.