Prevalence of malaria and associated risk factors among asymptomatic migrant laborers in West Armachiho District, Northwest Ethiopia

• Main Authors: Aschale Y, Mengist A, Bitew A, Kassie B, Talie A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2018
• Subjects: Malaria; West Armachiho; Migrant laborers; Northwest Ethiopia; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/b6d7e7e8538447478143bdf3de141c98

Yibeltal Aschale,1 Abeba Mengist,2 Abebaw Bitew,2 Bekalu Kassie,3 Asmare Talie3 1Department of Medical Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, DebreMarkos University, DebreMarkos, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, DebreMarkos University, DebreMarkos, Ethiopia; 3Department of Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, DebreMarkos University, DebreMarkos, Ethiopia Background: Malaria is a febrile illness caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. It is prevalent in tropical and subtropical countries and becomes a challenge to a highly endemic area of Africa including Ethiopia. The West Armachiho district is a malaria-endemic lowland area where communities are experiencing hyperendemic malaria transmission.Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria and the associated risk factors among asymptomatic migrant laborers in the West Armachiho district, Northwest Ethiopia.Materials and methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2016 on 385 migrant laborers selected by proportionate two-stage sampling method in Agricultural camps of the West Armachiho district. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and risk factors. Capillary blood was collected for Giemsa-stained blood film examination to detect and identify Plasmodium parasites. Data were coded, entered, checked for completeness, and analyzed using SPSS version-20 statistical software. Multivariate logistic regression was used to asses significantly associated risk factors. A P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: The prevalence of malaria was found to be 18.4% (n=71). Education level, home area or origin of migrant laborers, number of visits, outdoor sleeping, and bed net utilization were associated with the risk of malaria (P<0.05).Conclusion: Malaria was high in this study area and associated with outdoor sleeping, number of visits, home area, and ...