Prevalence of malaria and associated factors among under five children attending reproductive and child health clinic at Nachingwea District Hospital

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Malaria in humans is caused by five species of parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Globally in 2017,an estimated 219 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide, while the estimated number of deaths was 435 000, and 91% of them occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (World malaria report, 2018).In Tanzania, the prevalence is now estimated at 7.3%. Children under the age of five years are the most vulnerable group due to low immunity. These children attend RCH clinic but are not tested for malaria. Testing for malaria can help to diagnose asymptomatic malaria infection and provide treatment early before the diseases becomes complicated. A number of factors, such as geographical location, parent/guardian education status and occupation, use of ITN and availability of breeding sites have been associated with malaria infection. Objective: To determine the prevalence of malaria and associated factors among under-five children attending RCH clinic at Nachingwea District Hospital. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study design was used. Under-five children attending the RCH clinic at Nachingwea District Hospital were consecutively recruited into this study from September to October 2018.These under-five children were from different four wards(Nambambo, Boma, Ugawaji, Kilimanihewa) with different physical characteristics.Diagnosis of malaria was done by both microscopy and RDT using finger prick blood samples. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the children and their parents/guardians were collected and filled into a data collection form, data was entered and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 20. Data were presented as frequencies and percentages in tables. Results: A total of 269 under-five children participated in this study, of which 122 (45.35%) were males and 147 (54.65%) were females. Only two (2) children (0.74%), one male and one female were positively diagnosed with malaria by both Malaria rapid diagnostic test – PF/PAN and microscopy. Most of the children were reported to use ITNs, with only 20 (7.4%) vi children reported not to use. Those diagnosed positive for malaria were both from parents/guardian who were farmer’s, with primary education level. They were also reported to use ITNs. Conclusions and recommendations: The significantly low prevalence of malaria in this study can be due to the reported high proportion of ITN use among under five children in Nachingwea district. Low prevalence could also be due to the fact that the study was conducted during the dry season, which is the low transmission season. Further studies should be conducted at different seasons of the year to determine the association between malaria, climatic conditions and other factors.